2019 Bordeaux is known for great wines at all price points. In fact, that is a large part of what goes into my vintage rating. The ability for producers at every price level of wine is important. This report offers more focus on value-priced Bordeaux.
2019 Lalande de Pomerol wines can be beautiful expressions of Merlot. At the best vineyards, you find clay and gravel soils not too dissimilar to what you see in neighboring Pomerol. In fact, there is only a small stream separating Pomerol and Lalande de Pomerol. So, lovers of seductive, Merlot based wines at value prices should take a serious look at 2019 Lalande de Pomerol wines.
2019 Fronsac is also quite successful. Some of the wines produced this year are among the best ever from the appellation. They are luscious, ripe, fresh and they are not wines that require long aging. Many are just great right out of the gate. And they sell for a song for wines at this level of quality!
When I am in Bordeaux each year, I always enjoy tasting through Lalande de Pomerol and Fronsac. However, as I only have so much time in a day, I don’t really get to explore that many new vineyards each vintage. But this year was different.
Because I tasted this vintage at home, and had as much time as I wanted to taste wine, I was able to experience a vast array of wines from 2019 Lalande de Pomerol and 2019 Fronsac. Many of these wines were from producers I was not familiar with. As you can see from my notes, a lot of these wines are seriously quite good.
This report offers a lot of discoveries from both these Right Bank appellations that are worth you discovering as well. And the best part is, here you really do get QPR as these Merlot and Cabernet Franc based 2019 Bordeaux wines sell for a song in most cases.
All of the following 2019 Lalande de Pomerol and 2019 Fronsac wines were tasted in my home office from mid-May until mid-June in non-blind conditions.
2019 Annereaux – Lalande de Pomerol – Soft, polished, ripe and round, the wine is medium-bodied, sweet and forward, with a silky, approachable, earthy, plummy, chocolate and espresso tinged and elegant finish. 89-91 Pts
2019 Beausejour Cuvee Prestige – Fronsac – Black fruit, freshness, round textures, licorice and a hint of bitter chocolate on the nose and medium-bodied palate carry through from start to finish here. This will provide delicious drinking on release. 88-90 Pts
2019 Bertineau – Lalande de Pomerol – Medium-bodied, forward, soft, plummy and floral, the wine serves up its earthy, cocoa accented berries easily. One should be able to enjoy this on release. 88-90 Pts
2019 Bertineau St.-Vincent – Lalande de Pomerol – Medium-bodied, floral, fresh and with a shot of cocoa on top of the plums and wet earth, this will need a few years in the cellar. 89-91 Pts
2019 Bourseau – Lalande de Pomerol – Cherry blossoms and earth on the nose with soft, silky tannins, a medium-body and a bolt of chocolate covered plums in the fruity, earthy finish is what you will find here. 88 – 90 Pts
2019 Canon Chaigneau – Lalande de Pomerol – My first time tasting this wine proved to be a nice experience. Medium-bodied, soft, and round, the cocoa-covered plums on the nose, along with the herbal, leafy, mint accents were on point. The finish was clean and fresh, offering earthy, sweet and tart red fruits, dark chocolate and a spicy endnote. 87-89 Pts
2019 Canon Chaigneau – Lalande de Pomerol – Hints of coffee, licorice, mint, underbrush and wild cherries on the nose bring you to a fresh, bright, soft, medium-bodied, silky, spicy wine with a slightly dusty, bitter chocolate and plum finish. 89-91 Pts
2019 Chambrun – Lalande de Pomerol – Soft, silky, fresh and medium-bodied, the wine serves up an elegant layer of ripe plums, dark chocolate and espresso, leaving with a refined, plummy finish. 90-92 Pts
2019 Chenade – Lalande de Pomerol – A mix of flowers and chocolate on the nose opens the wine. From there, the medium-bodied, soft, ripe, lush fruits and the silky finish with its sweet berries and cocoa hit the spot. You can enjoy this just about on release for its textures and fruit-forward approach. 88-90 Pts
2019 Dalem – Fronsac – Dark in color, the wine is full-bodied, lush, rich and supple. On the palate, you find loads of sexy, juicy freshness, dark chocolate and fruit that hits it just right, and the wine sells for song. 91-93 Pts
2019 de Carles – Fronsac – Fresh, fruity and juicy, with a medium-bodied, easy-going, plum, cherry and licorice character. This will be ready to drink on release. 88-90 Pts
2019 de la Huste – Fronsac – Dark in color, with black and blue fruit, lush, plush, round textures and layers of licorice and chocolate-covered cherries in a forward, ready-to-drink style, that sells for a song. What’s not to like? 89-91 Pts
2019 Enclos de Viaud – Lalande de Pomerol – Earthy, dark cherries, sweet plums, herbs and a touch of licorice fall into place easily. Drinkable on release, this medium-bodied, soft, elegant wine delivers a nice, early-drinking, subtle, Lalande de Pomerol experience. 88-90 Pts
2019 Fontenil – Fronsac – Talk about seductive, this sexy, silky little number hits all the right moves. The wine is soft, but there is body and depth of flavor. The finish carries on with all the lushly-textured, chocolate-covered plums and cherries you need. This is one of the best vintages from Fontenil yet. The wine is produced from 100% Merlot, reaching 14.5% alcohol. 92-94 Pts
2019 Gaby – Canon-Fronsac – Ripe, round, soft, sweet, forward and lush, this is perfect for early drinking pleasure, due to it’s opulent, accessible, polished, sweet fruity nature. 90-92 Pts
2019 Gaby Princess – Canon-Fronsac – Medium-bodied, lusciously textured, sweet, ripe, round fruits with licorice, flowers and freshness from start to finish. 90-92 Pts
2019 Haut Carles – Fronsac – Black cherry and licorice dominate the nose and palate here. The wine is round, lush, ripe and showy, with a concentrated, opulent, fresh, fruity finish. One can drink this now, or wait a few years. 90-92 Pts
2019 Haut-Chaigneau – Lalande de Pomerol – The earthy, floral nose with its soft, polished, silky cherry nose and palate ends with a nice note of milk chocolate and cherry in the finish. This should be ready to go on release. 87-89 Pts
2019 Hauts-Conseillants – Lalande de Pomerol – Medium-bodied, forward, soft, silky, fresh and approachable, the wine has polish, ripe, sweet red fruits, nuances of wet earth, cocoa and licorice with a nice sense of purity. 89-91 Pts
2019 Haut-Surget – Lalande de Pomerol – The wine is medium-bodied, soft, lush and fruity, with sweet cherries and coffee bean all over the medium-bodied finish. 86-88 Pts
2019 Jean de Gue – Lalande de Pomerol – Medium-bodied, fresh, bright, easy drinking, earthy, cherry filled wine for early drinking consumption. 84-86 Pts
2019 La Dauphine – Fronsac – Deep in color, with flowers and chocolate, along with round, silky textures and a blast of rich, ripe dark red fruits, licorice, earth and spice. The wine meshes fruits, supple textures, espresso, cocoa and a fruity, fresh, silky finish. Drink it young, or age it for a few years. 90-92 Pts
2019 La Fleur de Bouard – Lalande de Pomerol – Black raspberries, cherries, wet earth with licorice are the first thing you notice. On the palate, the wine is medium-bodied, soft, sweet, fresh and vibrant, with elegance and purity. 90-92 Pts
2019 La Fleur de Boüard Le Lion – Lalande de Pomerol – Forward, medium-bodied and focused on its cocoa powder and plummy essence, the wine is a soft textured, easy-drinking, crowd-pleaser that is perfect for ordering in restaurants. 87-89 Pts
2019 La Fleur de Bouard Le Plus – Lalande de Pomerol – Dark purple in color, the wine exudes flowers, black cherry, black raspberries and plums, Rich, intense, full-bodied and opulent in nature, the black and blue fruit profile coats your palate, teeth and gums and does not want to quit. This 100% old-vine Merlot wine needs time to come together, soften and round out. But all the elements are here to morph into a fabulous tasting experience on maturity. 94-96 Pts
2019 La Riviere – Fronsac – Dark in color, the perfume exudes licorice, smoke, cocoa and ripe plums. The wine is round, lush, rich and offers a good depth of flavor on the palate finishing with loads of fresh black cherries, dark chocolate and plums. 91-93 Pts
2019 La Rousselle – Fronsac – Dark in hue, with licorice, espresso and black cherries on the nose, the wine is full-bodied, round, forward and very fruity. The endnote, with all those layers of opulent dark berries keeps on going. 89-91 Pts
2019 La Sergue – Lalande de Pomerol – Produced from a selection of their best terroir, the wine is round, soft and polished. Medium-bodied, with silky cherries and cocoa in the finish, this lighter-styled wine will drink best in its first decade of life. 89-91 Pts
2019 La Vieille Cure – Fronsac – Deep in color, with lush, plush, opulent polished textures. The wine has layers of fruit, sexy, silky tannins and a hedonistic finish. But this is no fruit-only bomb, it is a refined, sweet and hedonistic wine that should be great to taste early in life and age for at least a decade or more. The next time someone says Bordeaux is expensive, pop a bottle of this. 91-93 Pts
2019 Lafleur de Viaud – Lalande de Pomerol – Deep and chocolately, with layers of ripe, sweet, earthy, fleshy plums and black cherries. This is already good now and it is only going to get better with age. 90-92 Pts
2019 Les Cruzelles – Lalande de Pomerol – Flowers, black raspberries, earthy cherries and nutty chocolate notes are in the nose. The palate, is filled with lusciously textured, sweet, ripe black plums and cocoa. The silky finish feels great. Produced from a blend of 90% Merlot with 10% Cabernet Franc, this could be the top wine produced from Les Cruzelles, a vineyard the late owner, Denis Durantou loved. 91-93 Pts
2019 Les Trois Croix – Fronsac – Seductive, silky, medium-bodied, finesse driven, fresh and fruity, the red berries are clean, pure and feel just great. The tannins are soft, refined and should produce a wine that will drink well young, and even better with a few years of age. 91-93 Pts
2019 Moncets – Lalande de Pomerol – Medium-bodied, soft, forward and filled with chocolate covered plums on the nose and palate, the wine is going to be fine to drink shortly after its released. 86-88 Pts
2019 Moulin-Haut-Laroque – Fronsac – Roses, cocoa and smoke with juicy, sweet, fresh plums, cherries and licorice, all wrapped up nicely in a medium-bodied, silky, forward package that’s ready to go. 91-92 Pts
2019 Plain-Point – Fronsac – Lush, plush, opulently-textured and plummy, with layers of licorice, cocoa, espresso and black cherry taste and feel great. The opulent, rich finish tops everything off. 90-92 Pts
2019 Plain-Point Canon-Fronsac – Canon-Fronsac – The licorice, black cherry and espresso nose, with all that rich chocolate grabs you before you make your way over the round, lush, juicy, plum and cocoa finish. 89-91 Pts
2019 Sabines – Lalande de Pomerol – Medium-bodied, with a nice smoky, espresso, plum filled core, soft textures and a fruity, fresh finish. 87-89 Pts
2019 Sergant – Lalande de Pomerol – Floral and energetic, with soft, silky tannins, a medium-body and layers of ripe, sweet, refined, luscious, fresh dark cherries, plums and earth. 89-91 Pts
2019 Siaurac – Lalande de Pomerol – Silky, lush and soft with juicy fruits, energy, freshness and earthy, dark chocolate and plummy palate presence, this is going to be just great with a few years in the cellar. 90-92 Pts
2019 St. Jean de Lavaud (1.1) – Lalande de Pomerol – Medium-bodied, floral, earthy, cherry-filled, forward wine with a hint of dark cocoa and plums in the easy-drinking finish. 84-86 Pts
2019 Tournefeuille – Lalande de Pomerol – A touch of truffle, dash or chocolate, hints of flowers, licorice and juicy plums create the perfume. On the palate, this Pomerol look-alike is soft, silky, plummy and cherry-filled from start to finish. 89-91 Pts
2019 Viaud – Lalande de Pomerol – Floral, sweet and juicy with all the plums, wet earth and cocoa you need in a forward-style, soft, silky, approachable Lalande de Pomerol. 89-91 Pts
2019 Villars – Fronsac – Luscious, rich, ripe, and dark, red fruits, espresso, licorice and dark cocoa on the nose. The wine is plush, round, and juicy with a blast of dark fruits in the finish. This offers a lot of bang for the buck for savvy, Bordeaux value wine seekers. 90-92 Pts
2019 Vrai Canon Bouche – Canon-Fronsac – Round, plush and polished with a blast of dark, deep red fruits, licorice and espresso. Already delicious, the finish is packed with sweet, ripe, juicy fruits. 90-92 Pts
Tomorrow we will publish a report of on all the best 2019 Graves both red and white Bordeaux wine.
