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La Violette 2006

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > Pomerol
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyMerlot

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château La Violette

Label

Tasting Notes

This is a terrific La Violette, with a gorgeously floral, black raspberry, and black currant nose, a dark plum/purple color, and a full-bodied mouthfeel, but with an ethereal lightness and sweet noble tannins. The textured, layered mouthfeel is impressive, the purity impeccable, and the finish very, very long. The glorious aromatics and approachability of this wine suggest it can be drunk now, but there is plenty of tannin lurking beneath the fruit. This is an impressive 2006 that should be at its best between 2013 and 2026.

92
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (181), February 2009

Tasted at the château, the 2006 La Violette was the maiden vintage from the late Catherine Père-Vergé. It has a slightly more youthful bouquet than the 2006 Le Gay, although in some ways it is less interesting. That said, there are enjoyable leather and Morrocan spice aromas to be enjoyed. It just feels a tad static in comparison. The palate is medium-bodied with candied fruit on the entry, notes of licorice and melted tar. Interestingly, the bottle shown at Farr Vintners' blind tasting performed better than the one at the property (and incidentally, instantly nailed as La Violette thanks to its plumpness and polished sheen.) This demonstrated more complexity on the nose with a light marine influence. I would drink this over the next decade.

90
Neal Martin, RobertParker.com, May 2016

Strong notes of cassis, ripe plum and damson leap out of the glass on this wine, backed by sweet vanilla spice. The wine has a dense core of ripe black cherry and plum that bursts across the palate revealing notes of toast and smoke. The tannins are ripe but provide good structure to the wine, which has a long sweet finish of toasted spices complimenting the intense fruit that lingers long after the wine has gone. Seriously impressive.

Farr Vintners, Farr Tasting, June 2013

One of the big stories in 2006 is the resurrection of this once very good Pomerol estate now that it has been purchased by Catherine Pere-Verge, who has done so much to raise the level of quality at Chateau Le Gay. From a vineyard well-situated between Le Pin and Trotanoy, La Violette’s 2006 is a 100% Merlot cuvee that is running on all cylinders. Considering some of the great old vintages from the fifties and sixties, it is not surprising to find beautiful purity, fine tannins, and loads of sweet raspberry, black cherry, licorice, and earth notes in this medium-bodied, opulent, luscious effort. It should drink well for 15-20+ years. A brilliant effort!

92/94
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (170), April 2007
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.