Château La Croix St Georges, Pomerol, 2016

This is the very last available stock of this phenomenal vintage wine, as we emptied the Châteaux own reserve bottles!

The Janoueix family's premier estate is this staggeringly good property in Pomerol. Situated between Le Pin, Petit Village and Petrus, its small 4.5 hectare site is right in the middle of Pomerol's famed plateau, giving the grapes unparalleled intensity and depth from the hydric stress that this micro-climate brings.

The wine is impeccable: silky smooth, velvety tannins with flavours of plum compote, sweet ripe black fruits, supported by spice and a saline, black olive finish. 

91% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc, the vines are planted at an incredible concentration of up to 12,000 plants per hectare giving serious competition for the vines to gain nutrients and dig deep into the clayey, gravel soils. They are on average 41 years old, with some dating back to pre-WWII.

The wine is made without any crushing, with grapes transferred to vats for spontaneous, natural and completely gravity-fed fermentation. Jean-Philippe uses four, enormous 70,000-litre vats for the fermentation and for ageing, he uses half and half new and 1-year-old oak barrels, 80% of which are traditionally shaped, the rest in cigar-shaped barrels that give slightly less oak impact to the wines. 

92 Points, Neal Martin

"The 2016 La Croix St Georges is a blend of 94% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc picked from 4-10 October and matured in 50% new oak. The alcohol comes in at 13.8%. This has quite an opulent black cherry and boysenberry-scented bouquet with a hint of black olive in the background. The palate is smooth on the entry, quite rounded with good body, slightly lower in acidity than its peers, and with a caressing finish. It just needs a touch of detail and precision to come through on the finish. Maybe this is just a notch below the 2015, but it may well gain more sophistication in barrel. Drink 2021 - 2038"

93 Points, James Suckling

"The palate is tangy and minerally, with lots of crushed stone and berry character. It is full and chewy. I'm looking forward to seeing its evolution in barrel."

Quality shouldn't be surprising from a winemaker about whom Robert Parker said: "Another spectacular offering from young perfectionist Jean-Philippe Janoueix."

Jean-Philippe is the fourth generation of the Janoueix family to be in the wine business. The family originated from the region of Correze to the east of Bordeaux and Bergerac and just south of the oak forests of Limoges, famed for their barrel-making timber. 

Jean Janoueix established a wine business in Bordeaux in 1867 and his son, Joseph, was the instigator of the plan to buy their own grapes, which then became vineyards and then properties, with Château La Croix Saint Georges and Château la Croix in Pomerol and Saint Emilion respectively in the 1930s. His son Jean-François was to continue this growth with significant purchases during the 1960s, 70s and 80s. our man Jean-Philippe joined his father in 1994 with his first vintage, and his own plans, purchasing Chatea Chambrun in Lalande de Pomerol. he turned this property into the benchmark for quality in Lalande before selling it in 2007. This interestingly seems to be a very normal practice of trading, investing and re-investing in properties to renew and replenish ones portfolio. Not quite the world in which we live, but that's ok too...