Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Big and rich, this is a solid, dark and dense wine. Power and ripe fruit dominate the opulent structure. Produced by the Delon family of Léoville Las Cases in Saint-Julien, it is a wine for aging. Drink from 2020, but the wine will be developing for more years after that. Cellar Selection.
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James Suckling
This is so drinkable now with plum, milk chocolate and walnut character. Medium to full body, fine tannins and a fresh and clean finish. Hard not to drink now, but better in 2017.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Tasted blind at the Southwold Bordeaux tasting. The 2012 Nenin, which is the same blend as the 2015, appears to be maturing nicely in bottle after an impressive showing in barrel. Those cassis and blackberry notes are locked in, now augmented by subtle sea spray and rose petal scents, all with fine delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannin, very well balanced, though not enormous depth towards the finish that feels just a little austere at the moment; but there is appreciable length and a silky smooth texture. Give this 2-3 more years in barrel. Tasted January 2016.
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Wine Spectator
Features a strong roasted alder frame, with a slightly burly core of ganache, espresso, crushed plum and blackberry notes. The grippy finish sports ample briar and currant paste elements. Gutsy, but everything is in place. Should gain more nuance with cellaring. Best from 2017 through 2024.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
I have always contended that Château Nenin made Pomerols resembling some of the most powerful wines of the Médoc. Perhaps I was influenced by my pre-conceived notion of what the owners wanted to produce—Jean-Hubert Delon of Domaines Delon purchased Château Nenin from his cousins on the eve of the 1997 and has been known for his success with Châteaux Léoville-las-Cases and Potensac, which are at the top of the class in their respective appellations. Was he going to use his Médoc experience to make a bigger Pomerol? Domaines Delon has done an excellent job in upgrading this Pomerol property while keeping the wines faithful to the region. The 2012 exhibits youthful and generous ripe fruit aromas and flavors. The wine tightens up a bit in the finish but looks to be one of more robust wines from the vintage. (Tasted: April 9, 2013, Saint-Julien, France) barrel sample: 88-90
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.