Chateau l´Evangile 2015

JAMES SUCKLING: "Stunning aromas of blackberries, black olives, brown sugar and dried flowers. Tar. Full-bodied, dense and layered. Superfine tannins, yet this is muscular and long. An amazing wine reminiscent of the great L’Evangiles of the 1950s. Straight track. Goes on and on. Truly great wine. Try in 2024. Just a baby."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Deeply colored, like the hue of black plums, the nose is packed with smoke, truffle, incense, licorice, dark chocolate and kirsch, there is a citrus note in the background that adds more complexity. Intensity and sexiness, velvet textured and sensuous, this is bottled decadence. The finish resists fading, serving up dark chocolate and ripe, sweet, juicy, black plums that expand for close to 60 seconds. Balanced, fresh, opulent, long and expansive, this is a contender for the best wine ever to come out of l'Evangile. If you want to know what spell binding is, try this wine!"

JEB DUNNUCK: "In the running for the most opulent, sensationally textured, massive wine in the vintage is the 2015 L'Evangile and if tasting this beauty doesn’t make your heart rate increase, I don’t know what will. Made from 84% Merlot and 16% Cabernet Franc brought up in plenty of new oak, its ruby/plum color is followed by an awesome bouquet of blackberry jam, smoked meats, licorice, truffle, and hints of chocolate. Thick, opulent, super ripe, and decadent, with a full-bodied mouthfeel that needs to be tasted to be believed, it still stays balanced and fresh on the palate and is already impossible to resist. It’s going to keep for 3+ decades. This is one of those wines I wish every reader could taste!"

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2015 L'Evangile is composed of 84% Merlot and 16% Cabernet Franc and was matured for 18 months in new oak barrels from Tonnellerie des Domaines (their own cooperage). Deep garnet-purple in color, it absolutely leaps from the glass with complex, gregarious notes of blackberry pie, plum preserves, smoked meats/charcuterie, mocha and licorice plus suggestions of cloves, black soil and unsmoked cigars. Full-bodied, rich, opulent and jaw-droppingly sexy, it has beautifully plush yet firm tannins with a lively backbone and a very long, spicy finish."

WEINWISSER: "84 % Merlot, 16 % Cabernet Franc. Tiefes Purpur, satt in der Mitte, Granatschimmer am Rand. Wohliges, dunkelmalziges Bouquet, viel Brombeeren und dunkle Schokolade. Im Gaumen sehr füllig mit einer selten angetroffenen Opulenz bei einer L'Évangile-Fassprobe: Alles ist harmonisch und am richtigen Ort. Da ist viel Pomerol-Erotik! Für den Kellermeister Jean-Pascal Vazart kann man diesen phänomenalen Jahrgang durchaus mit dem 1998er vergleichen."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung, mit süßen Gewürzen unterlegte Nuancen von frischen Heidelbeeren und schwarzen Kirschen, sehr aromatisches Bukett, feine Röstaromen, attraktiv und einladend. Stoffig, das dunkle Waldbeerkonfit mit rotbeerigen Nuancen unterlegt, reifes Tannin, frisch strukturiert, extraktsüßer, eher opulenterer Stil, wirkt fast schon antrinkbar."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "Densely tannic, this wine displays considerable power and concentration. With 84% Merlot it exhibits jammy, rich black-plum and blackberry fruit and powerful tannins. This is an enormous wine, still very firm. Drink from 2026."

WINE SPECTATOR: "Dark and dense, with a brooding personality, offering a mix of warm tobacco, espresso, dark earth, well-steeped black currant and fig fruit flavors. Finishes with a broad loamy swath of fruit and tobacco, showing a strong echo of mocha and tar. This packs some serious punch. Best from 2024 through 2040. 2,000 cases made."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Tasted blind. Dark, blackish crimson. Heady and complete on the nose – lots of pleasure! Very sweet start – almost too much. And there’s no shortage of alcohol. But it certainly delivers. Very intense."