The Wine Advocate | RP 90
Published: Mar 31, 2017

The 2014 Blason de l'Evangile has copious black cherry and blueberry fruit on the nose, again, just that hint of incense. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp acidity, smooth and quite sensual with a keen line of acidity and good structure on the finish. You know, I actually prefer this to its second label stablemate Carruades de Lafite this year and it comes recommended. Drink Date: 2018 - 2028

lafite.com

The vintage
Thanks to a mild, rainy winter, the vines’ growth cycle started two weeks earlier than the average for Bordeaux and bud break was in mid-March, which is unusual. A warm April was followed by a cool, wet May with occasional spikes of heat. Flowering at the beginning of June was very satisfactory and promised an early, high quality vintage. Alternating periods of rain and warmth then slowed growth and much of the advance was lost; July was cold and wet, August was cloudy and fairly cool. From the end of August, the region experienced an "Indian summer" with hot, dry weather until the end of October. It was the warmest September recorded for nearly a century...
As a result, the grapes were able to ripen gradually during September and October in the unusually mild conditions and the harvest was of excellent quality.
We postponed the start of harvests several times on account of the lingering, consistently fine weather... The Merlot was picked between 22 September and 4 October and the Cabernet Franc on 3 and 7 October.

Location
Pomerol The Pomerol appellation stretches on a plateau on the right bank of the Dordogne river, about 40km north east of Bordeaux. In Pomerol, merlot is king. The typical clay soils of Pomerol allow this varietal to express like nowhere else in the world.

Terroir
Grapes selected for Blason are stemming from clay-sand and silty sand slopes with a clayey subsoil. These ligther soils allow for better root penetration and provide more regular and less limiting water supplies. The resulting wine is supple and elegant, lighter in style and more fruit driven than the Grand Vin, making it more accessible in its youth.

Winemaking
Alcoholic fermentation take place in temperature-controlled concrete vats, during which some gentle pumping-overs are carried out to enhance extraction. The wine is then left to macerate without external intervention.
Following maceration, 80% of the wine is transferred to French oak barrels that had held one wine, and 20% to vats for malolactic fermentation, and a maturation period of about 15 months.

Grapes
93 % Merlot 7 % Cabernet franc
Tasting
This is an excellent vintage for Evangile; the nose is intense with toasted and vanilla-scented notes, accompanied by notes of fresh fruit, and black stone fruit.
On the palate, the wine has great intensity with very dense, silky, ripe tannins. The finish is long, powerful and particularly persistent.