2014 Chateau L'If (1500 ml)

The Château L’If 2014, the Saint Emilion estate that Jacques Thienpont and Fiona Morrison MW bought in 2010, is a blend of 91% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc picked between 9 and 17 October, aged in 50% new oak and 50% one-year old. The nose offers up enticing licorice scents: detailed, vivacious and fresh with plenty of black fruit mixed with black olive. The palate is tightly wound with chalky tannin, that licorice note continuing through to the finish that is linear and crisp. This is an splendid Saint Emilion unapologetically elegant in style, one that as Jacques himself quipped, is the kind of bottle you finish. This is a very impressive Saint Emilion...in fact, comparing them side-by-side it might be just as good as Le Pin!