Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A wine that is smoky and meaty, with hints of dried dark fruits. Full and juicy, with velvety tannins and a long, long finish. Loads of cocoa character. Balanced and pretty. Try it after 2018.
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Wine Enthusiast
Opulent and ripe fruit that shows all the richness of the vintage. It has weight, spice and delicious red berry fruits. The tannins are certainly dense, but, oh, so sweet.
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Wine Spectator
A nice, old-school style, with roasted mesquite, tobacco leaf and espresso flavors up front, following through to bittersweet ganache and mulled dark currant notes on the still-slightly taut, but well-framed, finish. Should flesh out a bit more with cellaring. Best from 2014 through 2030.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A beautiful wine from the Moueix stable of right bank offerings, the 2009 Latour a Pomerol displays a dense plum/ruby/purple color along with a bouquet of mocha, roasted nuts, wood smoke, truffles and sweet cherries. Full-bodied, round and generous with sweet tannin, considerable power and no hard edges, this is a surprisingly up-front, precocious effort that can be drunk now or cellared for two decades.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
A source of exceptionally sensual and glamorous red wines, Pomerol is actually a rather small appellation in an unassuming countryside. It sits on a plateau immediately northeast of the city of Libourne on the right bank of the Dordogne River. Pomerol and St-Émilion are the stars of what is referred to as Right Bank Bordeaux: Merlot-dominant red blends completed by various amounts of Cabernet Franc or Cabernet Sauvignon. While Pomerol has no official classification system, its best wines are some of the world’s most sought after.
Historically Pomerol attached itself to the larger and more picturesque neighboring region of St-Émilion until the late 1800s when discerning French consumers began to recognize the quality and distinction of Pomerol on its own. Its popularity spread to northern Europe in the early 1900s.
After some notable vintages of the 1940s, the Pomerol producer, Petrus, began to achieve great international attention and brought widespread recognition to the appellation. Its subsequent distribution by the successful Libourne merchant, Jean-Pierre Mouiex, magnified Pomerol's fame after the Second World War.
Perfect for Merlot, the soils of Pomerol—clay on top of well-drained subsoil—help to create wines capable of displaying an unprecedented concentration of color and flavor.
The best Pomerol wines will be intensely hued, with qualities of fresh wild berries, dried fig or concentrated black plum preserves. Aromas may be of forest floor, sifted cocoa powder, anise, exotic spice or toasted sugar and will have a silky, smooth but intense texture.