Tasting Notes
Robert Parker 92.0
The 2019 La Chenade is a lovely Lalande-de-Pomerol from the Darantou family, bursting with aromas of plummy fruit, wild berries, rose petals, smoke and loamy soil. Medium to full-bodied, ample and enveloping, with supple tannins, succulent acids and a nicely defined finish, this charming wine represents one of the great values of right bank Bordeaux.
Anticipated maturity: 2021-2039
Vinous 92/100
The 2019 La Chenade is plump and voluptuous in the glass, with terrific fruit presence and tons of pure character. Inky dark cherry, plum, spice, new oak and chocolate are all amped up in this racy, super-inviting Lalande de Pomerol. Denis Durantou and his team coaxed an unreal level of finesse in 2019. Harvest took place between September 18 and 26. Denis Durantou’s 2019s are absolutely brilliant across the board. My tasting was obviously bittersweet, as Durantou lost his battle with illness just a few weeks prior. Denis Durantou was one of the most intriguing characters in Bordeaux. I can’t say I knew him well, but I always enjoyed tasting with him, as he was a person that spoke more with his eyes than with words. Things were implied rather than overtly stated. So, I tasted the 2019s with daughters Constance and Noémie over Zoom, in typical 2020 fashion. The Durantou sisters describe 2019 as a year with an early flowering and homogenous ripening that led to small, concentrated berries and higher pHs than normal. Temperatures were kept cool in the cellar, where both alcoholic and malolactic fermentations took place over cuvaison of 21 days (for all wines), in a reductive environment with little oxygen. From top to bottom, the Durantou 2019s are positively stellar. Don’t miss them!