2014 Hosanna
Buying options
Tasting notes
The 2014 Hosanna has an upfront and plush nose, perhaps one that you might associate more with Michel Rolland's winemaking style than J-P Moueix. Red berry fruit, cola, fig and curry leaf, perhaps even a touch Rhône-like? The palate is medium-bodied with soft tannins, lower acidity than its peers, and moderate depth, but it has a rather one-dimensional finish that needs more brightness and vivacity. I feel that Hosanna made far superior vintages after this, and bottles should be consumed in the next four or five years. I am not entirely convinced how representative this bottle is, hence the question mark. Tasted blind at the Southwold 10-Year-On tasting.
Critic scores
Average Score
Wine Spectator
Tim Atkin MW
More reviews and scores
Enjoyable to taste this luscious Pomerol, with soft raspberry puree, touch of peach pit, saffran, white pepper spice, softened tannins, ready to drink, well constructed, silky in mouthfeel, a little soft on the finish but with mouthwatering salinity, a sign perhaps of the old Cabernet Franc vines, a significant portion of which date back to 1956.
The 2014 Hosanna is a perfect example of this vintage; classic, balanced, and elegant, with little in the way of wow factor yet loads of charm. Ripe currants, black cherries, tobacco leaf, forest floor, and hints of incense all emerge from this medium-bodied, elegant, sweetly fruited, and silky Pomerol that’s already drinking beautifully. Enjoy it anytime over the coming 15 years or so.
The 2014 Hosanna followed the 2014 Latour-à-Pomerol at my tasting at J-P Moueix. To be frank, it did not quite possess the same breeding and precision as that wine, veering more towards red rather than black fruit, crushed strawberry and mulberry, tinged with clove and bay leaf. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin and impressive fruit concentration. Here is the real quality: a structured and quite masculine Hosanna, albeit with genuine complexity, allspice and clove intermixed with dusky black fruit and freshly cracked black pepper. It finishes with a sense of confidence and style. Hopefully the aromatics can improve during bottle age; I strongly suspect that they will.
About the producer
Château Hosanna is a relatively young wine label in Pomerol, but one with some of the richest heritage in the entire region. It couldn’t be better situated with Château Lafleur to the north, Vieux Château Certan to the south and flanked on either side by Pétrus and Château Lafleur-Pétrus.