Château Nénin 2005

The Château Nénin 2005 is flamboyant and vivacious on the nose, with red cherries, pomegranate, leather and a light marine influence. This lets it all hang out. The palate is medium-bodied with supple, ripe tannins, quite animally in style, a little feral, with an easy-going, slightly savoury finish. This is just beginning to drink now and should give 15 or 20 years of pleasure.

Very grapey on the nose, with mineral, tarragon and fresh flowers. Full-bodied, with very well-integrated tannins and a light vanilla, berry and milk chocolate aftertaste. Subtle and balanced. The best Nenin in years. Best after 2012.

An attractive minty, almost eucalyptus nose, with red cherry brightness; however, it’s not as dense or long as the 2015. Indeed, while the 2015 is a little closed, the tannins here come across almost hard by comparison, making the wine less charming than you’d expect from a Pomerol. The blend contains 74% Merlot and 26% Cabernet Franc.

A complete and sexy wine with very polished and refined tannins yet there’s an energy and posture that gives the wine such intrigue. Buy it.

Medium red. Currant, plum and mocha on the nose. Then nicely vinous on the palate, with a rather serious underlying structure supporting the flavours of plum and chocolate. A bit stern but has good stuffing.

Wet earth and plums in the nose, paired with fresh, tannic, red plums and herbs in the finish. This structured style of Pomerol needs another 5 more years to develop and soften.

Lots of spicy black fruits, loamy earth, tobacco, and savoury herbs emerge from the 2005 Château Nenin, a medium-bodied, ripe, velvety, spicy Pomerol that has a supple, impossible to resist style. I like where it is today yet see no reason it shouldn’t evolve gracefully over the coming decade.

Dark ruby, purple rim. Deep, concentrated bouquet, cherry notes, red-berry compote, dry-sweet. On the palate, again very dense, textured, finer than earlier vintages, showing great harmony, can still improve.

Dark ruby with a purple rim. Deep, concentrated bouquet: cherry notes, red fruit compote, dry-sweet. On the palate, again very dense, with plenty of substance; feels finer than earlier vintages, shows lots of harmony and can still gain further. (17/20). 20_ Bright garnet-ruby, thus still fully youthful. The still primary fruit bouquet plays out in the red-berry register: raspberries and redcurrants, complemented by red plums; peppery on the attack, gaining with air. On the palate, ample, very densely textured, still showing a demanding astringency. Overall perhaps a touch more power than finesse. Nevertheless, it has a promising future, as it is only at the beginning of a very long drinking window. 18/20 to start

Spicy, medium-bodied, peppery bouquet, blackberries, milk chocolate, raspberry vinegar. Sweet, light palate with fine, sandy tannins, light aromatics, bitter finish. 17/20 to drink

Warm plum in colour, with aromatics of fennel and aniseed. Flavours major on crayon, smoked earth, concentrated raspberry and blackberry fruits that have generosity and power. A kick of mint and hedgerow, with mouthwatering salinity on the finish. This holds in the glass, has plenty of tannins still, so no need to rush, but this feels like the perfect moment to begin drinking. 3.5ph. 35% new oak.

Deeply coloured wine. Warm, fruity nose, fresh and ripe, with more alcohol than at Léoville Las Cases. The palate is suave and very round, accompanied by a refined mouthfeel. Flavourful on the mid‑palate, it finishes with good length. Personally, I would have liked a little more expression on the mid‑palate. Very fine length, not at all marked by alcohol. Only the fruit is present. Harvest from 12 to 21/09.

90-92 Barrel sample. A very smooth, rich wine, with a slight touch of pepper from the alcohol. The tannins are huge but submerged by ripe fruit. There's almost Napa-like ripeness, but also delicious acidity.