| Region | Bordeaux |
|---|---|
| Appellation | |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
This wine is produced by the Durantou family of Château L'Eglise Clinet in Pomerol. The fruit is sourced from a section of the Les Cruzelles vineyard with gravel soil and younger vines. This has probably been Farr Vintners' biggest selling Bordeaux wine en primeur over the last 15 years. Year on year La Chenade delivers the goods but the price remains reasonable.
In 2025 production is only 800 dozen bottles. It is 85% Merlot (picked on 3rd September) and 15% Cabernet Franc (picked on the 12th of September), it is being aged in 40% new oak and comes out at 13.5% alcohol. Yield 32.7 hl/ha. Constance Durantou described this beautifully as a "chubby baby, round and gorgeous".
The 2025 La Chenade was picked on September 3 and 12 for the Merlot and Cabernet Franc respectively and is aged in 40% new oak. This has more intensity and fruit concentration compared with its stablemate, Saintayme, blackcurrant and raspberry, a touch of iodine coming through with time. Fine delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with svelte tannins, impressive depth for a Lalande-de-Pomerol, though elegant and harmonious. Just a dash of black pepper towards the finish, a classy offering of a wine that consistently ranks among the best values in Bordeaux. Drinking Window
2029 - 2040
An excellent showing for Chenade this year, with a spicy nose of red fruit, incense and wood smoke leading to a plummy, rounded, juicy core on the palate. This is a sumptuous, lightly grippy, ripe and appealing wine - it should be delicious from an early stage and deliver quality at an excellent price point.
A focused and textural blend of 85% merlot and 15% cabernet franc with plenty of precision and freshness. Blue fruit and some peppercorns on the nose, following through to a medium body with chalky tannins. Vivid and flavorful, with a long, grainy finish.
Before tasting, I wondered if this particular wine would take on the dry character of the vintage more than the others in the Durantou range, and for sure you have a little more dried fruit character here, with fig and touches of prune, but it is beautifully balanced and lifted by nectarine pit and fennel. Good quality, no need to wait. 40% new oak. Noémie Durantou winemaker.
The 2025 La Chenade is fabulous. Beautifully perfumed and sumptuous, La Chenade is drop-dead gorgeous. The purity of the flavors is just remarkable. Silky tannins add to an impression of total finesse. Sweet red cherry, pomegranate, rose petal and a discreet touch of oak linger on the refined, resonant finish. What a delight. 2030-2040
