Review: Fugue de Nenin 1999 Pomerol
- vinterest
- Apr 12, 2015
- 2 min read
The low-down: We love Pomerol! And have too many sitting in our cellar/fridge waiting to be opened. This 16 year old delight is a 2nd wine from one of the famed domaines in Pomerol: Chateau Nenin. They started producing a 2nd wine in 1997, naming it a "fugue": a classical music term meaning a repetition of the main theme.
Chateau Nenin is part of the Domaines Delon stable - they also own Leoville Las Cases (we tried their 2004 recently) and Chateau Potensac (we opened a 1999 last year). The Delon family acquired the domaine (32 ha under vine) in 1997 from their cousins, the Despujol family, who themselves had owned the chateau since 1847.
It's not a coincidence that the last few Bordeaux we have tasted are owned by large conglomerates - Lurton (2006 La Louviere), the Dourthe Group (2006 La Garde) or Bernard Magrez (2006 Fombrauge) - reflecting the commercialization and consolidation of the Bordeaux wine industry.
The blend is majority merlot (75%) with cabernet franc (25%). Domaines Delon have a handy vintage chart on their website: 1999 was a good year, it is ready to drink and can be drunk from the bottle ... let's see!
We picked this up from Le Clos at the Dubai Airport for 42 Euros.
The take: Light browny red appearance, the legs move fast and thin. An earthy, humid nose. Finely matured. Herbaceous (the cab franc) and smells of the sea. A very smooth attack. Some gently chewy, jammy tannins. Initially some oak but it very quick melds into cocoa, salted caramel and blackcurrant jam. Yum!
In closing: Pure bliss!
Rating: 9 out of 10.
Fact corner:
Country: France
Region: Pomerol (AOC)
Producer: Chateau Nenin
Vintage: 1999
Grape: Merlot, Cabernet Franc
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Serving temperature: 16-18°C
Price range: Premium
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