Description: The full-bodied Nenin exhibits lots of cranberry and boysenberry fruit, a hefty, rich mouthfeel, and a fresh, lively, long, rich style. It can be drunk young or cellared for three decades.
Robert Parker: Wine Advocate # 188. Apr 2010. Reviewer : Robert Parker. A blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc that achieved nearly 14% natural alcohol, the 2009 Nenin is the finest wine I have tasted since the estate was acquired by Jean-Hubert Delon (the family that also owns Leoville Las Cases). The full-bodied Nenin exhibits lots of cranberry and boysenberry fruit, a hefty, rich mouthfeel, and a fresh, lively, long, rich style. It can be drunk young or cellared for three decades. (Tasted once.)
Jancis Robinson: Published : 08-Apr-2010. Very dark crimson. Much more restrained than La Fugue. Quite a farmyardy nose and then very rich and poished and dense. Lots of tannin obvious here – a much more long-term proposition than La Fugue. Serious stuff. When to drink : 2017 to 2030.
Wine Spectator: Updated: April 15, 2010. What a nose of raspberry jam and violets. Amazingly rich and ripe, yet balanced and elegant. Full-bodied, with layers of ripe tannins and wonderfully ripe fruit. Opulent and sexy. Best since the 1950s? —J.S.
Stephen Tanzer: May/Jun 10. By Ian D'Agata. (An 80/20 blend of merlot and cabernet franc; 13.9% alcohol; pH 3.68; IPT 73; 30% new oak) Medium-deep ruby. Initially closed but deep nose opens slowly to reveal black cherry, blackberry jam, coffee and minerals. Dense and tactile, but with harmonious acids keeping the ripe black fruit flavors light and buoyant on the palate. Though it maintains some of that classic Nenin chunkiness, this is more refined than usual for this wine and perhaps the best Nenin at this stage of its development made under the ownership of the Delon family. Unlike La Fugue de Nenin, which comes from sandy clay soil, Nenin's flagship wine is made from grapes grown on sandy-gravelly and clay-gravelly soils in the western part of the vineyard.
Decanter: James Lawther MW, Decanter.com, 17.5 pts - "A great success this year. The best of the Delon era. Rich and intense. Voluptuous texture. Fine, firm tannins. More Pomerol seduction than in the past. Drink 2018-2030."
Chris Kissack, thewinedoctor.com, 16.5-17.5pts - "Merlot 80%, Cabernet Franc 20%, and including 11% press wine. IPT 73, alcohol 13.9%. Dark but well defined plum fruit. Good flesh and substance on the palate, polished character, ripe tannins, damson and raspberry fruit. Good freshness, nice acids in the middle, supple fruit too. Appealing and grippy with its velvet coat of ripe tannins. Very good."
Neal Martin, erobertparker.com, 89-91pts - "A blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, with 11% pressed wine, delivering 13.9% alcohol and a pH of 3.68 and an IPT of 73, like the Fugue de Nenin, this is a little taciturn on the nose, demanding coaxing from the glass. Eventually, one finds notes of red cherries, boysenberry, wild hedgerow and a touch of iodine. The palate is full-bodied with rounded, quite toasty tannins, plush black fruits, boysenberry, a touch of pain grille and even some slight honeyed notes towards the finish. Ends up being quite an opulent Nenin, quite chewy on the finish though, where I am seeking some finesse. Tasted April 2010."
Vinification: The harvest is by hand with the yields limited to around 30-35 hl/ha in most vintages. The fruit is sorted and destemmed before passing onto a second table for another sorting. Then follows the fermentation in small thermo-regulated stainless steel vats. The must is chilled but allowed up to 26-28ºC for the fermentation which is kick-started by the addition of cultured yeasts, and the cap is kept fresh by gentle pumping over twice-daily. The press wine as you would expect is handled separately, but may be blended back in as taste dictates. Malolactic fermentation is in vat before tasting, blending and transfer into oak during the winter months after harvest. The proportion of new wood used is not high, up to 30% new for the grand vin, Chateau Nenin .
