Winemaker Notes
Ripe aromas of berries and cherries with hints of dust and tile. Some orange peel, too. Full body, round and velvety tannins and â fresh, clean finish. Balanced and lively.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
The 90% Merlot in this wine gives it a densely rich, black-plum and spice character. It is solid, still very young with impressive dark fruits and intense tannins over the acidity. The wine will need time, so don't drink before 2022.Cellar Selection
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Chateau Lécuyer, courtesy of Emeric Petit, has an expressive bouquet with blackberry, boysenberry, blood orange and orange sorbet aromas, perhaps here more 2015 in style than 2016? The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin. There is good grip in the mouth, the foundation of a masculine and structured Pomerol that will need four or five years in bottle. Surly at the moment, for sure, yet with an appealing, almost aloof personality that keeps drawing you back. This is very well crafted and possibly one of the best wines from this Pomerol estate.Rating 90-92
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James Suckling
Plenty of ripe-plum and baking-spice aromas here, the full, fleshy body nicely balanced by the full, velvety tannins. Good length, if not that complex. A blend of 90 per cent merlot and ten per cent cabernet franc.
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.