2010 Petit Village (Pomerol)

The finest wine from this estate since their glorious 1982, the 2010 Petit Village possesses aromas of licorice, black cherries, cassis, truffles and oak. Powerful and deep with a corpulent texture, a silky mouthfeel and a wonderful lushness, it will be drinkable in 2-3 years and last for 15 or more. 90-92 points

Tasted at Pichon Baron. A blend of 18% Cabernet Franc, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon and the remainder Merlot, this has a relatively understated nose with dark cherries, a touch of truffle and blackberry leaf. The palate is full-bodied with grippy tannins, a voluminous Petit-Village, quite assertive, perhaps just a little aggressive on the tannic finish at the moment. Masculine and bold, I did not warm to this PV as much as I anticipated. Let’s see after bottling. Drink 2015- Tasted March 2011. 90-92 points

(75% merlot, 18% cabernet franc and 7% cabernet sauvignon; 70% new oak; 14.5% alcohol) Good, bright ruby-red. Complex aromas of red berries, violet and minerals, plus a whiff of peppery milk chocolate. Very suave and silky on entry, then tight and energetic in the mid-palate, with sweet flavors similar to the aromas. Ripe and smooth on the long, peppery aftertaste. There`s more cabernet franc this year in the blend, technical director Jean-Luc Martignon told me, because a well-situated parcel that survived the frost of 1956 has turned out to be cabernet franc—and not cabernet sauvignon, as they had always believed! This looks to be one of the best vintages for Petit Village in years. Stephane Derenoncourt also consults here. 90-93 points