Tasting Notes
JancisRobinson.com – 17+
88% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc. Cask sample. Dense and reserved but with a lift of chocolate and berry fruit as it opens. Generous fruit on the palate, the aromatic complexity more pronounced. Burgundian, berry-fruit nuance. Firmly muscular and tannic behind, the tannins solid but well honed. Slightly grippy finish which could be the oak needing to settle. (JL)
Anticipated maturity: 2028-2045
Robert Parker – 97
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2020 L’Evangile rolls effortlessly out of the glass with notions of mulberries, black raspberries and stewed red and black plums, plus suggestions of Indian spices, dusty soil and violets with a touch of iron ore. The medium to full-bodied palate possesses compelling freshness and a fine-grained texture to support the muscular black and red fruits, finishing long and earthy. This 2020 blend of 88% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc has an alcohol of 14.5% and a pH of 3.8.
Anticipated maturity: 2026-2050
Vinous – 96
The 2020 L’Évangile is fabulous. Aromatic, deep and fleshy, with magnificent purity of fruit, L’Évangile dazzles right out of the gate. Bright Franc aromatics add striking lift as well as vibrancy that carries through to the long, delineated finish. There is an energy to the 2020 that is palpable. Harvest for the Merlot began on September 3, ahead of a heat wave that was forecast, and wrapped up on the 14th for the Merlot and the 21st for the Franc. That approach worked so well here. In the past, L’Évangile and Lafite-Rothschild were very different stylistically, but that seems to be changing now that Saskia de Rothschild is spending a great deal of her time in Pomerol with the new winemaking team. The estate, certified biodynamic as of 2021, has been pursuing a more refined approach for a few years, but 2020 is the first recent vintage where the personality of the year seems to have aligned especially well with the current thinking here. The 2020 L’Évangile is easily the most Lafite-like L’Évangile I have ever tasted. Don’t miss it!
Anticipated maturity: 2030-2050
