Hosanna 2019

The 2019 Hosanna comes across as a tad underwhelming on the nose with blackberry and raspberry coulis, though just a few swirls, and it begins to find its voice. It is still quite expressive after several minutes. The palate is well-defined with fine tannins that frame the plush yet precise black fruit, judiciously spiced with a long and tender finish. Top class. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. Drink 2025-2055.

The 2019 Hosanna has turned out well, exhibiting opulent aromas of sweet berry fruit, plums, spices and creamy new oak. Full-bodied, rich and velvety, it's broad and enveloping, with supple tannins and an ample core of ripe, generously extracted fruit. Hosanna is the most dramatic wine in the Mouiex portfolio this year, as is often the case. Drink Date 2025 - 2045

Blackberry and blueberry aromas, together with green olives, stems and peaches. Full-bodied and very tailored, with a firm, linear finish. Gorgeous already. Wonderful length, depth and finish. Mushroom at the end. Really classic. Try after 2027.

Made from 69% Merlot and 31% Cabernet Franc, the 2019 Hosanna is deep garnet-purple colored. It prances out with bright, showy scents of kirsch, black raspberries, and juicy plums, plus suggestions of roses, clove oil, and fallen leaves. Medium to full-bodied, it is firm and grainy with a lively line supporting the tightly wound red and black fruit layers, leading to a beautiful long and minerally finish.

This lays on the blackberry and black cherry fruits like a concentrated puree and I am already imagining pairing it with a good Brébis cheese. Excellent stuff, just pulls back from being too sweet with an influx of slate, bitter black chocolate, iodine, tobacco, cigar box. Restrained but exuberant, excellent. Harvest September 20 to October 3.

Tasted blind. Rich and vivacious with real attack. Ambitious and not content just to be sweet and velvety. Long and well composed. But needs time. 15%
Drink 2028– 2044

The 2019 is a blend of 69% Merlot and 31% Cabernet Franc, and will be aged for 16-18 months in 50% new French oak. Deep purple in the glass with a smoky and glossy nose of morello cherries and vanilla. The palate is grippy and dense with black fruit and mouthcoating tannins. This is bold and firm at this early stage and will need time in the bottle to unfurl. Smoky oak offers clove and nutmeg in tandem with dark cherries on a long finish.

Another beautiful Pomerol, the 2019 Château Hosanna comes from a small 11-acre vineyard composed of a mix of gravel and clay soils. Its deep ruby/plum color is followed by a terrific perfume of spiced red and black cherries, blueberries, leafy tobacco, damp earth, and chocolate. It gains richness and depth with time in the glass and is medium to full-bodied, has a plush, seamless texture, gorgeous tannins, and no hard edges. It epitomizes the elegance paired with opulence that only Pomerol seems capable of producing. This beauty is already impossible to resist (it needs a decant) yet will evolve for 30 years or more.

69% Merlot, 31% Cabernet Franc. Barrel sample.
The nose is a little more reserved and austere but the leafy freshness of the Cabernet Franc is apparent. Lovely texture, the layered fruit fleshing out fine but firm tannins. Definitely has lift and freshness, the finish clean and persistent. Staying power, I would think. (JL)
Drink 2028 – 2044