Description: Chateau Petit Village possess the richness and incomparable finesse of great Pomerol. The robe is a beautiful deep red, the nose aromatic and intense. In the mouth, the tannins are supple, fleshy and powerful. The structure is balanced and silky.
Robert Parker: Wine Advocate # 188. Apr 2010. Reviewer : Robert Parker. This consistently under-performing estate has made one of its finest wines in many years. The opaque ruby/purple-tinged 2009 offers up hints of toffee, caramelized red and black fruits, and spicy oak. Medium to full-bodied, soft, round, and generous with abundant glycerin, this beauty can be drunk over the next 10-15 years. (Tasted once.) Drink: 2010 - 2025.
Jancis Robinson: Published : 08-Apr-2010. Full, fragrant, floral nose. Thick and sweet. A little overbearing. Hard finish – very muscular. Not too alcoholic. When to drink : 2015 to 2027.
Wine Spectator: Updated: April 15, 2010. This is sexy, with beautiful ripe fruit and spices. Full bodied, with focused fruit and a long finish. Racy. So focused. Class. Best ever? —J.S.
Stephen Tanzer: May/Jun 10. By Ian D'Agata. (A blend of 75% merlot, 17% cabernet sauvignon and 8% cabernet franc) Ruby-red. Aromas of cassis, coffee and balsamic mint. Rich and round on entry, with ripe flavors of red cherry jam and milk chocolate given needed backbone by youthfully tight but not drying tannins. Finishes moderately long and sweet if a bit lacking in complexity. Very well-made wine, even if it can't match the best 2009 Pomerols for breed and energy. This year witnessed the longest harvest ever for this estate, with the young merlot first picked on September 17 and the last cabernet coming in on October 7. Tasted five different times with variable results.
Decanter: James Lawther MW, Decanter.com, 17.5 pts - "Great effort this year. A sleeper. Dark and intense, the quality of the tannins extremely refined. Cabernet component (26%) evident. Ageing potential. Drink 2018-2035."
Chris Kissack, thewinedoctor.com, (March 2010),13-14+/20 pts -"Merlot 75%, Cabernet Franc 17%, Cabernet Franc 8%. A rather reserved style of fruit nose here, not very expressive, but dark and spicy when it shows. Rather hot in character on the palate, bold with lots of substance, but also some heat and spice. A palate very influenced by alcohol here. This doesn't appeal to me."
Neal Martin, erobertparker.com, 90-92pts -"A blend of 75% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Cabernet Franc, picked between 17th September and finish on the 13th October with the Cabernet, this has a ripe damson, small black cherries and just a hint of marmalade. The palate is medium-bodied, quite tannic, feeling as if there is more Cabernet than the 17%. A more masculine Petit Village, almost foursquare, conservative whilst another sample was smoother and more cohesive. Moderate length. Fine. Tasted April 2010."
Tim Atkin, www.timatkin.com, 91 pts - "Definitely a wine that needs time to come together, given its density and powerful tannins. The oak and the extraction levels are ambitious, with lashings of sweet, ripe Merlot fruit underpinned by the Cabernet’s rigour. Lower alcohol would have been welcome. 10+ years."
Vinification: Once ripe, the grapes are picked by hand. After a first selection in the vineyard, the bunches are brought to the winery in small crates of 30 kg. Here, a second selection takes place on a sorting table before the grapes finally enter the vatroom. The vinifications take place in thermo-regulated concrete vats for an average of 21 days. Then all the wines are put into barrels for their malolactic fermentation. The wine is aged in oak barrels (70% new barrels) for about 15 months.
