Chateau Les Cruzelles, Lalande-de-Pomerol, France 2018

Denis Durantou's 'entry level' wines, that is to say the wines not produced at his flagship Pomerol estate, Chateau L'Eglise Clinet are always rank amongst our 'best value' buys. Saintayme, Chenade, Cruzelles and Montlandrie offer excellent value for money. Denis describes 2018 as a 'Révolutionnaire'. It's a big change at the Durantou estates as Denis has retired from winemaking. It's been an extraordinary run with many exceptional wines, but all good things must come to an end. Produced from the same estate as La Chenade, but hailing from the more gravelly, clay soils, Les Cruzelles has received rave reviews over the last decade. Again, this was very reductive, so difficult to assess. On the palate there is clear pure silky fruit, impressive intensity and a core of deep, rich cassis, plum, sweet smoke and toast. The clay soils provide more depth and concentration (than Chenade). In terms of texture and tannic presence, this feels like a step up from Chenade.