L’Evangile 2017 (RP95)

All of the Cabernet Franc was frosted in 2017, so L’Evangile is composed of 100% Merlot for the first time. Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 L’Evangile is a little closed to begin, offering glimpses at blueberry preserves, baked plums and black raspberries scents before revealing nuances of spice cake, cinnamon stick, dusty soil and garrigue plus a waft of incense. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a lot of richness and depth, with firm, ripe, rounded tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long and spicy. 2022 – 2050 The old-vine Cabernet Franc at L’Evangile was completely frosted in 2017. Unsurprisingly, it was the plots on the plateau that were relatively unscathed, but those near Cheval Blanc and Bon Pasteur were frosted. Thus, for the very first time this year, the grand vin is made with 100% Merlot. “We had to paint vines with different colors according to the amount of frost damage they received,” operations manager Jean-Pascal Vazart informed me. “Overall yields were down to 20 hectoliters per hectare this year, which is a little misleading, because the unscathed plots gave 40 hectoliters per hectare and some affected plots gave three hectoliters per hectare.” A long harvest ensued, beginning September 4th and ending at the beginning of October. In the end, the alcohol came out at 14.6% with an IPT of 76, which are pretty hefty numbers when you consider the purity and grace of this wine.