2013 Rouget
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Tasting notes
The 2013 Rouget was the first vintage where Edouard Labruyère decided to mature everything in barrel (vinification integral). He told me that his team had to conduct four or five passages through the vineyard due to uneven ripening, therefore the harvest took almost one month. It has a bright and you might say "perky" black cherry and raspberry scented bouquet, nicely defined and with commendable fruit concentration given the vintage. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, not as convincing as the aromatics, the challenges of the growing season denuding it of the complexity of a great season. There is a bit of stiffness here, although that will dissipate with bottle age and the finish is still a little blunt. But considering this is a 2013, this is a decent, short-term Pomerol.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2013 Rouget is wonderfully dark and fleshy in the glass. Sweet, layered and impeccable, the 2013 impresses for its depth and juiciness. The new oak is a bit present at the moment, but that should not be too much of an issue over time. The style is extroverted, racy and ripe, and it all works beautifully here. What a pretty wine this is. Tasted twice.
A delicious, sexy Pomerol, the 2013 Rouget possesses plump black cherry fruit, lots of spice, medium body, and excellent purity, texture and depth. A sleeper of the vintage, it provides further evidence of just how much this property has pushed quality to higher levels. Enjoy it over the next 6-8 years.
About the producer
Close to the Pomerol church, the Labruyère family purchased this property in 1994. They immediately set to work, restructuring the vineyard, renovating the winery and allowing the property to emerge from the shadows.