Jacques Thienpont is a man who knows a thing or two about making wine. His original project was Le Pin. It shot from ground level to the stratosphere; recent vintages of this exclusive Pomerol have been released north of £2000/bottle (and that's ex taxes, and it always sells out en primeur). In 2010, Jacques set out on a new venture, this time in St-Emilion. He acquired a small property called Haut-Plantey and set about re-building it from the bottom up. It needed a lot of work.
The soils had been treated with weedkiller and needed to be nurtured back to life. Jacques uprooted the vines in three of the original five hectares, and replanted. He was able to acquire a couple of other nearby plots, which he thought would bring complementary qualities. He renamed his reborn estate L'If ('the yew'), with the first vintage appearing in 2011. Jacques' nephew Cyrille manages the property on a day-to-day basis, and is delighted to see the fruit of his years of hard work. Over a decade of restructuring and replanting, and the growing maturity of new vines, have brought L'If to a very high level.
Collines de L'If is the excellent second label here, offering a real glimpse into the character and quality of L'If. Like the grand vin, Collines is a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, from clay and limestone soils. It comes from a plot of young vines, which in due course are likely to be used for the grand vin. From the warm and lauded 2018 vintage, 2018 Collines de L'If is juicy and open, warm and vivid, full of plum and flower, and very St-Emilion. The creamy mouthfeel contrasts moreishly with bright, crunchy, red-fruit freshness. /NT
