Château Plince, “Pavillon Plince” Pomerol
Château Plince, “Pavillon Plince” Pomerol

Château Plince, “Pavillon Plince” Pomerol

Bordeaux, France 1998 (750mL)
Regular price$49.00
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Château Plince, “Pavillon Plince” Pomerol

Today, no patience is required. No caveats or predictions. All you need to do is carefully extract the cork and let the reverie begin! With more than two decades of maturity under its belt, today’s Pomerol from jewel-box Château Plince—shipped to us directly from the cellar of its négociant in Bordeaux—is enjoying a graceful old age.


Although we sourced this wine quite some time ago, and encountered shipping delays getting it here, my memory of this 1998 is as clear as if I’d tasted the wine yesterday: This is a master class in Right Bank elegance, a Merlot-driven wine that is beginning to behave a bit like a Burgundian Pinot Noir, as these wines often do at this age. Whereas a lot of modern Pomerol is characterized by an abundance of rich, chocolatey, plummy extract, this one speaks to a prior generation of Merlot-Cabernet Franc blends with its silken weightlessness and damp, dark earth underpinning the more red-tinted fruit. Given how much powerful young Bordeaux we taste around here, the experience of this wine is like a visit from a wise elder with lots of stories to tell. It is in great condition and is ready and rarin’ to go—another epiphany-in-the-making from our friends in Bordeaux!


Château Plince is known as one of the handsomest châteaux in Pomerol, located in the hamlet of Catusseau. Château Nenin and Château La Pointe are its closest neighbors, but cult Pomerol legends Le Pin and Pétrus are tantalizingly close by, too. Like most estates in Pomerol, Plince is quite small by Bordeaux standards, with just under nine hectares of vineyards rooted in dark, iron-rich clay and sand. The varietal mix in the Plince vineyards is roughly 72% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, which, as is typical, tends to be the approximate cépage (blend) of both the Grand Vin and today’s “second” wine, Pavillon Plince.


The estate has been owned by the Moreau family for several generations, but its sales and marketing are handled by the prestigious firm of Jean-Pierre Moueix, whose holdings extend not just across Pomerol and Saint-Émilion but into California’s Napa Valley (Dominus Estate). Production and aging of the wines at Plince is described as deeply traditional, with a manual harvest followed by fermentation in temperature-controlled concrete vats. The finished wines are aged 12-18 months in French oak barriques, one-third of which are new.


We couldn’t track down the exact varietal breakdown of today’s 1998, but there’s no doubt it’s a classic, Merlot-driven Bordeaux whose naturally soft contours have smoothed further over time into the texture of silk. There’s a pleasing hint of green tobacco and herbs coming from the Cabernet Franc, in a wine which, at 20+ years old, displays all the earthy secondary aromas we look for in mature Bordeaux: saddle leather, wet clay, cedar, and graphite. The fruit component emerges after a few minutes of air, with notes of sappy red cherry, orange peel, plum, and a hint of fruitcake. Rather than decant it, I’d suggest standing the bottle upright a good 24 hours before service (keeping it as close to cellar temperature as you can), then using an “ah-so” opener (if possible) to carefully remove the cork. If you pour slowly and carefully into Bordeaux stems, you should be able to avoid any sediment landing in your glass. The wine changes dramatically in the glass and will provide plenty of conversational fodder over the course of a great meal. Earthy dishes like pot roast, cassoulet, or dishes incorporating roasted or sautéed mushrooms would all work well. The memory of this wine will linger long after the bottle is finished. Enjoy!

Château Plince, “Pavillon Plince” Pomerol
Country
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Alcohol
OAK
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France

Bourgogne

Beaujolais

Enjoying the greatest wines of Beaujolais starts, as it usually does, with the lay of the land. In Beaujolais, 10 localities have been given their own AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) designation. They are: Saint Amour; Juliénas; Chénas; Moulin-à Vent; Fleurie; Chiroubles; Morgon; Régnié; Côte de Brouilly; and Brouilly.

Southwestern France

Bordeaux

Bordeaux surrounds two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which intersect north of the city of Bordeaux to form the Gironde Estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is at the 45th parallel (California’s Napa Valley is at the38th), with a mild, Atlantic-influenced climate enabling the maturation of late-ripening varieties.

Central France

Loire Valley

The Loire is France’s longest river (634 miles), originating in the southerly Cévennes Mountains, flowing north towards Paris, then curving westward and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes. The Loire and its tributaries cover a huge swath of central France, with most of the wine appellations on an east-west stretch at47 degrees north (the same latitude as Burgundy).

Northeastern France

Alsace

Alsace, in Northeastern France, is one of the most geologically diverse wine regions in the world, with vineyards running from the foothills of theVosges Mountains down to the Rhine River Valley below.

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