Situation and soil

The Pomerol area is one of the most prestigious wine appellations of France and is located 30 km East of the city of Bordeaux between Libourne and Saint Emilion. With its limited surface (800 ha), Pomerol was formally part of Saint-Emilion until 1936 when the A.O.C. Pomerol was decreed by INAO. Situated on a plateau, Pomerol's successive terraces gently slope down to the Isle stream and the Dordogne River. The core Pomerol area is a compact plateau on which are located the most prestigeous wineries of the district. The soil at Pomerol is relatively heterogeneous but generally speaking, the grounds are of gravely nature for the greatest properties, with a tendency to become more argillaceous in the Western part of Pomerol and more sandy near the city of Libourne - the one notable exception being Château Petrus whose soil is composed of black clays. At Pomerol, one of the soil's particular features is the high proportion of iron hard pan in the subsoil. It is a sort of ferruginous sandstone locally called "crasse de fer".

Characteristics

The Pomerol area is characterized by small domains whose vineyards are divided into tiny plots. This explains why the Pomerol wines are difficult to find and often quite expensive. The exceptional quality of the greatest estates truly makes each of them an unforgettable tasting experience but the price to quality ratio is not very favourable. The organoleptic features situate Pomerol wines between burgundy growths and other prestigious Bordeaux appellations. Pomerol's wines mainly result from Merlot grapes. They are marvellously velvety and fruity in their youth, before evolving into noble tertiary tones such as grilled almonds and black truffles as they age.

Main properties of the appellation

Pomerol, to the contrary of other prestigious Bordeaux appellations, has never classified its growths – and a forthcoming classification is certainly not on the agenda. 
However, an non exhaustive list of the Pomerol's best wineries should include :

• • Petrus and Château Lafleur, regarded as "hors classe" growths.
  • Le Pin, one of the precursors of the "Garage" style - unfortunately totally unaffordable! 
  • Beauregard, Bon Pasteur, Certan de May, Clinet, Clos l'Eglise, Clos René, la Conseillante, Croix de Gay, Domaine de l'Eglise, Eglise-Clinet, l'Enclos, l´Evangile,  la Fleur Pétrus, la Fleur de Gay, le Gay, Gazin, Hosanna, Lagrange, Mazeyres, Montviel, Nénin, Petit-Village, Plince, Rouget, Trotanoy, Vieux-Château Certan and la Violette are the other leading properties of the appellation.

Varietals and technical data (*)

The average production, exclusively in red, is of approx. 44,000 hl within a planted surface of 790 ha.

• Authorized yields: 42 to 60 hl/ha 
• Sugar (grams per liter of must): 171 gr minimum
• Base Alcoholic strength: 10.5% / 13.5%

Main grape variety:

• - Merlot (80%),
• - Cabernet-Franc (20%)

(*) Sources:
• Bordeaux and its Wines - Ch. Cocks - Ed. Féret - 17th Edition,
• Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB)