Primeurs 2017
En avril dernier, nous présentions le millésime 2017 aux professionnels du vin sur différents lieux de dégustation :
| Panos KAKAVIATOS (USA) | 91-93/100 | Château de la Riviere*– Refined nose here. This shows how nicely Fronsac can perform even in a more challenging vintage. This is quite special and the best of all the Fronsacs. Has more elegance and nuance than the Fontentil, for example. |
| Chris KISSACK (USA) | 91-93/100 | I find a dark and almost brooding character to the nose of this barrel sample, with crushed blackberry fruit accompanied by a little flinty reduction. The palate is restrained in its texture, quite pure and finessed, with lots of dark fruits tightly wound together at the heart of the wine, intertwined with cocoa bean and coffee bean notes. Supple, sinewy, fresh, with tension and a very correct composition, with a long and robust tannic finish, this is a very good result in this vintage. |
| Yves BECK (SUISSE) | 90-92/100 | Pourpre violacé. Bouquet intense et complexe, notes de baies rouges et de cannelle. Attaque friande et compacte. Au palais, le vin a une bonne intensité et des tannins qui assurent les arrières. Ils sont granuleux et en symbiose avec la structure. Cette dernière confère du jus et soutient la finale. Léger creux en milieu de bouche mais le vin n’en est pas moins convaincant et prometteur. 2022–2032 |
| Neal MARTIN (USA) | 89-91/100 | The 2017 La Rivière has a focused, nicely defined bouquet with broody black and red fruit that unfurls with time. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, gentle in terms of grip but nicely proportioned with a touch of spice and white pepper towards the finish. I can see this maturing with style. |
| Jeb DUNNUCK (USA) | 89-91/100 | A blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc brought up in 50% new oak, the 2017 Château de La Rivière is another inky-colored effort made with the help of consultant Claude Gros. Blueberries, violets, flowers, and some spicy wood all emerge from this fresh, elegant, silky red that has fine tannin, a kiss of minerality, and a fruit-filled, lengthy finish. It’s another serious overachiever from an appellation that doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. |
| Roger VOSS – The Wine Enthusiast (USA) | 89-91/100 |
Big, firm tannins add structure to rich fruit, this is dark and concentrated with hints of bitter chocolate and juicy acidity. This wine will age well, drink from 2022.
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| Thomas BOXBERGER-Von SCHAABNER (Allemagne) | 89-91/100 |
Für den roten La Rivière sind 67 Hektar mit 84% Merlot, 8% cabernet Franc und 6% Cabernet Sauvignon bepflanzt. Massiver dunkler Farbkern. Tiefe, reife Nase mit satter Frucht und liköriger Kopfnote, Teer, Lakritz und Süssholz, sehr differenziert. Gute, stimmige Extraktion im Mund mit der typischen, dunkelhaarigen Frucht und fleischig, voller Struktur. Sehr balanciert, satte Intensität und Länge. Ein stilvoller Fronsac |
| James SUCKLING (USA) | 89-90/100 |
A juicy and fruity red with dense fruit and hints of white pepper. Full and flavorful.
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| Markus del MONEGO ( Allemagne ) | 90/100 |
Deep purple red with violet hue and black core. Tightly woven nose with rather restrained fruit. On the palate juicy character, well structured and balanced tannins, convincing length. On the palate well balanced with firm tannins, rather medium bodied but with good length.
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| Jeff LEVE (USA) | 90/100 | The wine easily shows its oaky side along with its chocolate and plummy character. Medium bodied, round, lush and juicy, this will clearly offer pleasure on release.
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| Julia HARDING (UK) | 15,5/20 | Deep crimson. Creamy dark fruit. Savoury, chewy and a wine to get your teeth into but all in balance. More integrity than charm at the moment. Little hint of dark chocolate on the finish. (JH) Drink 2023-2029 (/tastings/view/618462)
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| VINUM EXTRA (Allemagne) | 15,5/20 |
Elegant, gut abgerundetes Tannin, aromatisches, frisches, fruchtiges, langes Finale. Wir begrüssen die qualitative Entwicklung des Gutes.
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| Adrian Van VELSEN (Suisse) | 17+/20|89+/100 | Toujours dominé au nez par le bois et derrière les cerises noires, herbes séchées, des notes de réglisse, des changements, des spectacles de classe. Démarrage très doux, déjà accessible, fruit précis, moyennement corsé, les tannins sont finement tissés, le vin est structuré, dense mais pas lourd, et toujours en milieu de bouche juteuse, avec le chêne bien intégré. Finale longue durée, se terminant délicatement épicée. Réussi. Conçu pour la maturité moyenne, peut encore être amélioré. 2020-2028
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| Jane ANSON (UK) | 89/100 | A clear spicy edge, with extremely dark fruits. Once again the fruit is flirting with being under ripe, but this is an enjoyable wine with a sense of energy, black pepper spice, and some lip-smacking minerality. They had frost on the lowest plots where they have white grapes and in parts of the rest of the vineyard, resulting in lots of micro-vinifications that called for extremely precise winemaking. Final yield 38hl/h. Approximately 4% Malbec makes up the rest of the blend
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| Antonio GALLONI (USA) | 88-90/100 |
The 2017 La Rivière is terrific. Bold and racy in the glass, the 2017 offers up generous black plum, chocolate, leather and licorice flavors, all in a juicy, up-front style that holds considerable near and medium term appeal. Moreover, the wine’s balance is simply impeccable.
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| Christer BYKLUM (Norvège) | 88-90/100 |
Ruby. Blackberries, fruity, some spices, scented, blueberries nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, anise, blueberries, juicy, fruity, dark berries, good length. |