Understanding Pomerol at three price points

Pomerol is a paradox. Its famous plateau terroir is hallowed; it produces (in Petrus, Le Pin and Château Lafleur) three of the most expensive wines in the world; demand is so high and quantities so small that it is very difficult to source back vintages; and its mere mention sends the pulses of Bordeaux aficionados racing.

Scroll down for Colin Hay’s three-step Pomerol selection

Yet the landscape of the appellation itself appears flat and uninspiring (a stark contrast to the calcareous contours of its immediate neighbour St-Emilion), there are no grand châteaux here, no visitor centres, no hotels, no cavistes and scarcely a restaurant.

It would be utterly forgettable were it not for the quality of its wines, and it belies entirely the adage that beautiful wines come only from beautiful places.

It is the only appellation of Bordeaux’s ‘top five’ to have no system of classification and it was scarcely known before the post-war period, though it was in fact one of the original appellations to be created by France’s National Institute for Origin and Quality (INAO) in 1936. It is arguably the most intimate and welcoming of Bordeaux’s great appellations, but to the uninitiated it is also the most intimidating. It is, to misquote Churchill, a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.

In short, Pomerol takes some understanding. And to understand it best one needs first to appreciate a little of its history.

Bordeaux’s market garden

Pomerol almost certainly takes its name from pomarium, the Latin for orchard. And for a long time Pomerol was, in effect, the orchard and market garden of the nearby town of Libourne. If the Romans grew vines here, as they almost certainly did, the grapes they produced were intended for eating, not for drinking.

Pomerol’s tradition of polyculture continued long after the Romans left. It was sustained through many of the ensuing centuries by the good fortune of being on one of the pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Indeed it was really only in the 16th and 17th centuries that wine started to become important to the economy of the area. A geographical division of labour had begun to develop between Dutch traders, concentrated in the Dordogne, and their British counterparts based in and around Bordeaux. The former increasingly used Libourne as their distribution hub – and Pomerol was well placed to satisfy at least some of their demand in the markets they served for wine.

But the Dutch penchant of the time was for white, not red. So it was in fact only in the second half of the 18th century (in 1761) that the first Merlot was planted in Pomerol. It would take a further century and, above all, the recognition of its greater resistance to phylloxera, for it to become the dominant grape variety in the area.

Pomerol’s reputation, however, was somewhat slow to develop. Until the 1920s it was still regarded, in effect, as an extension of St-Emilion. Yet it was nonetheless one of the first crop of appellations to be created by the INAO in 1936.

By the 1940s – while Petrus was already selling for the price equivalent of a Médoc second growth, and Vieux Château Certan and Château La Conseillante for that of a third growth – the remaining wines within the appellation remained largely unknown. Pomerol was, in short, the last appellation to join the ‘super five’ – a reputation that was arguably only finally secured with critic Robert Parker’s adulation for its wines in the exceptional 1982 vintage.

Pomerol: the facts

Appellation established 1936

Area planted (2020) 786ha (smaller even than St-Julien)

Grapes Exclusively red: Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Petit Verdot (since 2009)

Producers About 140

Average vineyard size 5.6ha

Classification None

Superstar vineyards Petrus, Lafleur, Le Pin, Vieux Château Certan (‘VCC’), La Conseillante, L’Eglise-Clinet, Trotanoy, La Fleur-Pétrus, L’Evangile

Rising stars Enclos Tourmaline, Guillot-Clauzel, Hosanna, Porte-Chic, Séraphine

Nota bene Though Petrus has no accent on its ‘e’, Château La Fleur-Pétrus does

Great recent vintages 2020, 2019, 2018, 2016, 2015, 2010, 2009, 2005

Under appreciated vintages (where excellent value can be found) 2017, 2014, 2012, 2008, 2007, 2001

Source: CIVB

The clay factor

Pomerol is the smallest of the great appellations of Bordeaux, with a little less than 800ha under vine. There are, today, about 140 producers and the average vineyard size is a paltry 6ha (with most much smaller than that and several below 0.5ha).

The appellation is situated on a gravel bank, rising from southwest to northeast over the famous plateau where the very best terroirs are to be found. In the south and west the soil is sandier, typically producing less profound wines; but in the north and east, above all on the plateau itself, there is more of the clay that is key to the identity and reputation of Pomerol; in the best terroirs of the plateau this is layered with gravel.

The subsoil here, importantly, is a dense and dark clay with a typically high iron content.

Though it is difficult to discern from the ground, the contours rise from the sandy edge of Libourne itself, close to sea level, to a peak of 39m (at Petrus) and just above 40m at Château Gazin. There are two pockets (or bouttonières) of Pomerol’s famous blue clay – the first (of about 20ha) over an iron-rich sand at and around Petrus itself, and the second, without the iron subsoil, around Châteaux L’Eglise-Clinet and Trotanoy.

Pomerol is planted at approximately 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and the remaining 5% a mix of Malbec, Petit Verdot and, increasingly, Cabernet Sauvignon. The key to the appellation’s identity is the predominance of an early-ripening variety, Merlot, and the florality, freshness and complexity brought to Pomerol by Cabernet Franc in particular.

Look out for floral notes (above all violet, peony and mimosa), plum, damson and blueberry fruit, a gentle natural sweetness and, with age, truffle, graphite and cedar.

Eight to try, four to covet

Colin Hay’s Pomerol in three steps

More affordable Pomerol (£20-£50)

It is very difficult, indeed practically impossible, to find ‘cheap’ Pomerol – and prices typically rise quickly after release, so it is a good idea to purchase early, ideally en primeur. Second wines are a good affordable option, particularly in good vintages (and there have been many in recent years). Look out especially for La Petite Eglise (from L’Eglise Clinet), Duo (from La Conseillante) and La Gravette de Certan (from Vieux Château Certan).

Château de Sales 2019

Château Mazeyres 2018

Sacré Coeur 2018

Clos René 2018

Mid-range quality (£50-£100)

While all of the above wines (and plenty more in the same price bracket) are excellent, this is where things start to become really interesting – as wines from the heart of the Pomerol plateau come into range. These may not be cheap, but they are special and iconic wines that, in my view, represent good value for their quality in the international fine wine market.

Château Latour à Pomerol 2018

Château Porte Chic 2016

Château du Domaine de L’Eglise 2012

Château Montviel 2018

Superstar Pomerol (£100-don’t ask)

These are all, for me, incredible wines of staggering quality and complexity – wines that I feel privileged to have had the chance to taste. The 2012 vintage, in particular, is very strong in Pomerol (see Sebastian Payne MW’s ‘2012 revisited’ selection of 40 wines) – it is rather under appreciated, making it somewhat more affordable.

Even the very best wines, such as La Conseillante, below, are very accessible already. The other three wines listed are now each significantly more expensive than they were en primeur (Lafleur most of all). Top Pomerol increasingly needs to be purchased early.

Château Lafleur 2019

Château L’Eglise-Clinet 2019

Vieux Château Certan 2019

Château La Conseillante 2012

Understanding Pomerol: Colin Hay’s 12 wine picks

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