Winemaker Notes
A nice fruit forward Pomerol with loads of Merlot fruit and a delightful perfumed element to it. A rich and powerful wine with good balance with a bouquet of black currant, mint and pretty earthy tones.
Coming from a highly respected small seven-acre vineyard located in the heart of Pomerol, this wine is always a crowd pleaser. Great with a wide range of dishes including lamb chops, roasts and chicken.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Château Lecuyer comes from vines in the Clinet sector of Pomerol and is based on 75% Merlot, with the balance Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, which is slightly more Cabernet than in past vintages. This beautiful Pomerol has considerable elegance and purity, as well as classy notes of gravelly earth, leather, chocolate, and both red and black fruit. I love its overall balance, and it's medium-bodied, with a juicy, lively style and outstanding length.
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James Suckling
Rich, fresh black cherries, plums, dark chocolate and roasted spices with a piquant twist of wasabi and fine herbs. Plump and medium-bodied on the palate, this has chalky tannins and a long, juicy finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Full-bodied with ripe plums and blackberries, as well as blue flowers and chocolate. Refined and polished with fine-grained tannins and a lingering, silky finish.
Barrel Sample: 92-93 -
Vinous
The 2022 Lécuyer, vinified at Château Clinet after Ronan Laborde acquired the property, has a light nose with macerated red cherry, black plum and violet touches. It just needs a bit more "attack." The palate is gentle, caressing and medium-bodied with light tannins. This is not a complex Pomerol, but it slips down the throat with ease. There will be better to come from this estate under Ronan Laborde, but this is a decent opening to his account.
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.