CRITIC REVIEWS
Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Proprietor Denis Durantou has produced a blockbuster Pomerol from a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, tipping the scales at just over 14.5% natural alcohol. A riveting wine, pure, elegant, but at the same time, extremely powerful and concentrated, with stunning texture, opulence and density, the tannins are abundant, and the wine certainly in need of a decade of cellaring. Fabulous creme de cassis and cherry liqueur notes are intertwined with hints of licorice, truffle, and graphite. Full and rich, but still in an infantile state of development, this wine needs to be cellared for 10 years but should keep for five decades or more. This 2009 is absolutely profound.
Neal Martin
Served blind at the Southwold 2009 tasting. Denis Durantou’s wine is difficult to taste in its youth and this is reflected in my score that will surely rise as it unfolds over many years. It has a more broody nose with dusky blackberry and mulberry, touches of bell pepper and strawberry pastille. Complex – but it is reticent at the moment. The palate is medium-bodied with a fleshy entry. There is a good build, although it seems to hide itself away on the finish. A reluctant superstar? Most probably and watch those scores dial skywards once it enters its drinking plateau in a few year’s time.Tasted January 2013.