La Chenade 2020

Denis Durantou was a colorful figure from the tiny village of Pomerol. For years, he refused to travel to meet customers or hold international tastings to promote his wine, famously saying "a chef should stay in the kitchen." His more famous wine, Château L’Eglise Clinet, is considered one of the top Pomerol stars.  It eventually led fans and wine buyers to his door. His remarks on Les Cruzelles in Lalande-de-Pomerol is very revealing: "if we were in Burgundy it would be called a monopole, as I have the entirety of the 0.5ha plot". Half a hectare (barely an acre) is indeed a tiny plot!

Some of the most exorbitantly priced wines in the world rule the Right Bank region of Pomerol.  Their price tags are not for the faint of heart, and few of us will be able to experience them in our lifetime. Yet nearby, Lalande-de-Pomerol offers much promise to the everyday wine lover.  Les Cruzelles is a wine of tremendous quality approaching levels of some top tier estates, but at a fraction of the cost of its neighbors in Pomerol.  This is largely due to the brilliant and legendary vigneron, Denis Durantou.  His humility, combined with technical skill gave the wine world a series of treasures like Château L’Eglise Clinet (Pomerol), Saintayme (Saint-Emilion), and now Château Les Cruzelles (Lalande-de-Pomerol), and La Chenade (Lalande de Pomerol). La Chenade is one of the best value wines in Bordeaux. “It's a fabulous wine," said Fiona Morrison, managing director of Thienpont Wine (Le Pin) and a neighbor in Pomerol.

"Made from Merlot grapes picked between the 9th and the 15th of September and Cabernet Franc grapes picked on the 16th of September, the 2020 La Chenade expresses a vibrant and elegant bouquet with aromas of dark berries, violet, rose, dark cherries and graphite. Medium to full-bodied, it’s a juicy and elegant wine with a fleshy core of fruit and a fresh finish. As usual, this estate has produced excellent red wine from sandy-gravel soils." - Yohan Castaing, The Wine Advocate (4/13/2023),  Rating: 92+