Wine Advisor
La Violette 2017
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Description
Violette, Pomerol, Bordeaux, France, Still, Red, 2013
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 La Violette sails out of the glass with expressive scents of baked plums, blueberry preserves and blackberry pie plus suggestions of spice cake, chocolate box and powdered cinnamon. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers mouth-coating black fruits with a firm, fine-grained frame and long, fragrant finish.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 La Violette is a little reticent to begin, unfurling to give crushed blackberries and blackcurrants notes with touches of forest floor, truffles, cast iron pan and star anise. The palate is exquisitely balanced and intense, with firm, ripe tannins and seamless freshness framing the rock-solid, muscular fruit, finishing very long.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2017 La Violette is very hard to taste, as the tannins are massive. And yet behind all of that lies a core of dense fruit. This potent, rich Pomerol needs a few years in bottle. I have to wonder what it would taste like with less extraction. La Violette is clearly a wine of real character, but that doesn't always come through.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2017 La Violette is no doubt a fabulous wine. But it could have been so much more than that. It could have been epic. Inky blue/purplish fruit, lavender, crème de cassis, mint, licorice and French oak are all amped up in a dense, powerful and super-concentrated Pomerol. The greatness of this terroir is almost completely masked by the super-extracted style. Floral notes add lift on the finish, but I can only think of what could have been.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2017 La Violette has an attractive bouquet with raspberry, cranberry and subtle marmalade aromas. Quite pure and more elegant in style compared to recent vintages. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and a fine bead of acidity. More red than black fruit towards the finish exerts gentle grip and a pinch of cracked black pepper on the aftertaste. It feels a little more open at this stage than expected but it has the substance to last 15-20 years.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2017 La Violette has a very precise bouquet with blackberry and raspberry scents, a touch of iris developing in the glass. This year I certainly find more complexity here than its sibling Le Gay. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, a little savory compared to other recent vintages with a soft, velvety finish that feels pure and caressing. This is a delicious La Violette that is less ostentatious than recent vintages and frankly, all the better for it.
About the Producer
Although Chateau La Violette dates back to the late 1800’s when it began to earn a reputation for its wines. In those formative years, the property was owned by a cooper, who made wine barrels for other estates, Ulysse Belivier. It is only quite recent that Chateau La Violette has produced some of the best wines in all of Pomerol. Purchased in 2005 from Frederic Dumas, Chateau La Violette made its debut for the new owner, Catherine Pere-Verge with the 2006 vintage. The small 1.8-hectare vineyard of La Violette is now fully planted to 100% Merlot. At one point in time, there were also Cabernet Franc vines planted, but those vines have been removed and replaced with Merlot. The vineyard has some very old Merlot vines that are close to 75 years of age. The tiny production makes this one of the harder wines to find in Pomerol! The terroir at La Violette is a complex mix of clay and limestone with gravel and iron deposits that run deep into the soil. The vineyard consists of 4 plots in two main parcels. Those 4 main plots are further divided into 20 smaller parcels. The best terroir is placed between Le Pin and Trotanoy. Those vines are the heart and soul of La Violette. The second parcel, which is close to Feytit Clinet is not on the plateau and thus, those vines are placed in Chateau Montviel, one of their other estates. The vines are planted to a density of 5,500 vines per hectare for the old vines. The young vines are planted at a much higher density of 7,700 vines per hectare. At Chateau La Violette, vineyard management requires three days a week be spent manicuring each individual bunch, removing any green or pink berries from around the “wings” to ensure a perfectly uniform ripening of the grapes. At its best, Chateau La Violette is filled with countless layers of dense, rich, opulent dark berry, floral and chocolate tones. The palate enjoys a bath of pure velvet and satin. This is a very sensuous style of Pomerol that marries opulence with the concentration and purity of fruit. One of the key characteristics of this Bordeaux wine is the haunting smell of violets.
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