2016 de Chambrun

This property belonged to Jean-Philippe Janoueix until 2007, then to Silvio Denz until 2015. As of 2016, this wine 'will benefit from a completely adapted viticultural direction', their website tells me. They have preserved the original wine label with the Templars’ Cross, the historic symbol of the Pomerol and Lalande-de-Pomerol appellations. 69% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon on sandy, gravelly soil with clayish subsoil. Planting density: 6000 vines/ha. Average age of the vines: about 32 years. 60 barrels of integral vinification (ie fermented in barrel; 4 plots of Merlot and 1 plot of Cabernet Franc). Aged 16 months in French oak barrels, 50% new and 50% second-use oak. Deep cherry colour – like ripe, shiny cherry skins. Very youthful-looking. Quite obvious oak on the nose but more in a savoury, dark-chocolate spice than in sweet toastiness. Plenty of blackcurrant fruit still easy to identify. On the palate, the tannins are smooth but thick and dense, really compact, so that it is rather hard work to taste now. There's enough freshness and plenty of fruit density but I find it almost too concentrated for comfort. The Ch Moncets 2016 just tasted, older vines and less oak influence, seems more attractive. But perhaps you just need to put this away and forget it for a decade. Long, chewy finish, with that dark-chocolate effect on the aftertaste. (JH)