Château l'Evangile
The vintage
The 2004 vintage was marked by moderate rainfall in the winter, lots of rain in spring and a dry cool summer. The end of the season was superb, with fine dry weather in September and October resulting in remarkable phenolic maturity in the grapes.
Harvesting of the Merlots was carried out from 30th September to 7th October and the Cabernet Francs on 11th and 12th October.
Location
The Pomerol appellation stretches on a plateau on the right bank of the Dordogne river, about 40km north east of Bordeaux. In Pomerol, merlot is king. The characteristics of Pomerol’s clay soil give to this varietal an expression like nowhere else in the world.
Terroir
L’Evangile’s vineyard covers 22 hectares at the heart of the Pomerol plateau, sharing the appellation’s best terroirs with two other prestigious properties. Here, through a mystery of geology, the heavy green clay soils are covered by a bed of gravel. These high quality soils are the source of the estate’s great merlot, and the secret of Chateau l’Evangile’s extraordinary power and depth.
Winemaking
Alcoholic fermentation took place in temperature-controlled concrete vats and lasted for about 10 days. Pumping over and maceration times were adjusted for each vat, according to the terroir and the maturity of the tannins. Total maceration times were of 27 days on average for the merlot and 28 days for the cabernet franc. After maceration, the wine was transferred in new oak barrels for the malolactic fermentation, followed by 17 months of ageing. The barrels are made by the Tonnellerie des Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) in Pauillac.
Grapes
Tasting
When tasted during the futures campaign, the vintage showed an intense nose with toasted, vanilla notes. There were also plenty of fruit notes, mainly raspberry, blackberry and blackcurrant. The wine is very intense on the palate, with silky ripe tannins. A long and powerful finish.
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