Château La Croix du Casse 2019

Delivers a steeped plum and black currant core, with a slightly roasted hint and notes of black tea, singed cedar and licorice root chiming in. Features texture that's a touch rustic, but this has length and character, ending with a curl of wood spice. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2023 through 2032. 4,000 cases made.

A lovely rich and supple Pomerol that manages to capture plenty of the essence of the appellation but still be an early to medium term drinker with welcoming tannins and plenty of supple but gourmet-textured berry fruits – blackberry and black cherry are dominant, with chocolate shavings at every step. Impressive from the Philippe Castéja stable of wines.

Orange-peel, dark-berry and violet character. Medium to full body with layers of fine, velvety tannins and a long, intense finish. Needs time to come together, but beautiful even now. 85% merlot and 15% cabernet franc. Try after 2025.

The 2019 La Croix du Casse has a light bouquet with undergrowth and tobacco notes rather dominating the fruit. The palate is medium-bodied, rustic and peppery, showing a little dryness on the finish. I would drink this over the next few years.

Medium-bodied, soft, silky and fresh, with a core of sweet, ripe cherries, flowers and wet earth. The wine is refined, chocolaty, and earthy on the palate and in the lush, plummy finish. Drink from 2023-2038.

Kunz barrel sample 2020: spicy, slightly bitter, mineral bouquet, Amarena cherries, tobacco, blackberry jelly, licorice. Powerful, good bourgeois palate with finely sandy tannins, firm structure, intense sweet aromatics, long, velvety finish.

Spicy, herbal, mineral bouquet, Amarena cherries, tobacco, blackberry jelly, licorice. Powerful, classically bourgeois palate with fine, silky tannins, a firm, core structure, bold, slightly sweet aromatics, and a long, velvety finish. 17/20 2025 - 2042

For a long time, La Croix du Casse struggled to reveal finesse and to showcase its fruit-driven qualities. The 2019 counters this. It displays serenity and subtlety. The palate lives up to Pomerol’s reputation, offering a suave, rounded and balanced character. A wine that can already be enjoyed in its youth.

Beautiful deep, dark red. Very aromatic nose with ripe fruit, both fresh and slightly sun-kissed. Precise on entry, precise mid-palate, very flavorful, very pleasant, the wine melts and caresses the palate. Finish without any tannic edge. Immediate pleasure.