Château Nénin 2017

Of a particularly elegant, slender style, polished tannins, refined, perfectly delineated. Complex aromatics.

Composed of 58% Merlot and 42% Cabernet Franc—the highest percentage of Cabernet Franc ever—the 2017 Nenin is deep garnet-purple in colour and comes galloping out of the glass with exuberant notes of baked black cherries, plum preserves and black raspberries plus suggestions of liquorice, candied violets and fallen leaves with a waft of melted chocolate. Medium to full-bodied, the palate offers bags of youthful black fruits with seriously spicy sparks and a beautifully plush texture, finishing long with a compelling mineral kick.

Fresh and bright in profile, featuring red currant and raspberry notes, gilded with floral hints and backed by a light rooibos tea echo. The lively acidity of the vintage carries the finish. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2032. 1,666 cases made.

Generous Pomerol floral aromatics, reflecting the record amount of Cabernet Franc in the mix because of the frost. Enjoyable, careful extraction with a sexy burnish to the body before majoring on freshness and slate minerality on the finish. Has touches of the pencil lead that you always get in Nenin, and although this is austere, it will soften. It has improved over ageing.

The density and drive to this is certainly impressive for the vintage with blueberry and stone character to the dried violet and sandalwood undertone. Medium to full body. Tight and compressed with freshness and length. Bright and exciting. Linear. Salty, too. Try after 2021.

10% lost to the frost (while Fugue de Nénin was 70% frosted so the volumes are too small for it to be sold en primeur in this vintage). 42% Cabernet Franc, 58% Merlot. Harvested 12–29 September. A little more Cabernet Franc than usual because the lower parts of Nénin were frosted. They did not use the fruit from second-generation buds (harvested 8–12 Oct) because it was not phenologically ripe. This is already the final blend. 6.7% press wine. 35% new oak. pH 3.75, IPT 70, TA (sulphuric) 3.43 g/l. Very dark with purple crimson. Lifted, lightly floral aroma and a charming dusty overlay. Quite dark on the palate, savoury and dark-fruited but also scented on the mid palate. Oak is well integrated. Creamy texture, elegant and beautifully balanced. Juicy finish and good freshness and length. (JH)

The 2017 Nénin is super-expressive and energetic, with tons of Franc character driving its profile. Rose petal, mint, crushed flowers and savoury herbs give the 2017 its distinctly aromatic profile. Because of frost, the Franc plays a larger role in the blend, and that most definitely comes through. Although a bit eccentric, Nénin is wonderfully nuanced and alluring in 2017.

With an overriding floral character, the wine also displays cherry, plum and truffles. Elegant and nuanced, there is a beautiful purity in the fruit and silkiness in the tannins. The finish lets you savour the sweetness of all the soft red fruits.

Deep dark ruby, with purple reflections, and a delicate bright rim. Lovely black berry fruit aromas, with a hint of blackberry, and subtle orange zest. Juicy, complex, elegant, with nice sweet fruit, integrated tannins, some minerality, and a discreet chocolate touch. It is persistent, and it is a fine spicy food wine.

Black cherries, spring flowers, tobacco, and a touch of damp earth all emerge from the 2017 Chateau Nenin, and it's elegant, seamless, and medium-bodied on the palate, with plenty of character. It's already hard to resist yet will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and evolve for over a decade. The blend is 58% Merlot and 42% Cabernet Franc, which is the highest percentage ever of Cabernet Franc. This estate lost 60% of their production due to the frost, and there's only half the normal production of their grand vin, so there’s not much to go around.

58% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Franc, owing to frost only 15.5 hl/ha. Garnet-ruby with a violet rim. Delicate red-berried bouquet, with fresh wild raspberries and redcurrants behind. On the palate, silky tannins, a wiry frame and a finely austere extract. In the focused finish, blue fruits and gentle astringency. Has room to improve.

Kunz Fassprobe 18: (58% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Franc, 15 hl/ha, 13.5% vol. alcohol, 35% new barriques) Fresh, fragrant bouquet, strawberries, red liquorice, mint. A silky, densely woven palate with good fruit, fine tannins, a finely opulent structure, powerful, sweet aromatics, and a long, fresh finish. Can improve further.

Precise and sculpted, rippling with blackberry, redcurrant fruits, with a touch of slate minerality and restrained mint leaf freshness on the finish. You can feel the deft winemaking bringing out the detail on the tannins, and at five years old it is blossoming, and full of pleasure - not as long living as the 2016 or 2018, but excellent quality. 35% new oak. This was a frost year, with the lowest yield on record at 14.5hl/h, meaning less than half of the usual amount of 1st wine, with just 15,000 bottles. 3.75ph, 40% new oak.

The 2017 Nenin is a blend of 58% Merlot and 42% Cabernet Franc and has a medium to deep garnet-purple colour. It features fragrant notes of warm black cherries, black raspberries and violets, leading to hints of cinnamon toast, potpourri and dusty soil. Medium-bodied, the palate is soft and elegantly fruited, delivering loads of fragrant layers and a red-berry finish.

The palate offers lively tannins with a silky, fresh, refined length and a lovely floral finish.

Powerful, intense, linear, very persistent, juicy, sappy, silky tannins, fleshy. Great purity in this wine.

Such intensity in Nénin’s bouquet! Attractive floral and fruity notes with violets and dark berries, followed by a touch of liquorice wood. It calls you to pour a glass and savour the wine! On the palate the wine is creamy, dense and perfectly supported by its tannins. The latter are finely grained and lend breadth to the entire palate. A great deal of elegance and precision in this wine. An intense, persistent finish. What a fine success for Nénin, which is positioning itself better and better and reaching exceptional levels. It is worth recalling in passing that Nénin has produced legendary wines, such as 1929, 1947, 1949 and 1959. Without wishing to draw parallels, I salute the work accomplished by the entire Nénin team and by Domaines Delon. Such merit.

The nose is fresh, racy and offers fine concentration/power as well as minerality. One finds notes of blackcurrant, wild berries and subtle touches of blackberry, wild raspberry and flowers, combined with fine hints of toastiness and chocolate, as well as a very discreet touch of Sichuan pepper and toasted almond. The palate is fruity, balanced, taut, indulgent, precise, fine, well-driven and offers a touch of creaminess, some flesh, a fine freshness as well as lovely tension. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of fleshy blackberry, blueberry and fleshy/crunchy raspberry, combined with subtle hints of small berries, racy minerality, toastiness, toasted almond and dark chocolate. The tannins are fine and a little plush. Good length and persistence. A fine chew on the finish. Presence of a hint of hazelnut/almond on the retro-olfaction.

Logo on the cork: LA

91–93. Barrel Sample. This wine is juicy, with layers of attractive black fruit and soft tannins. It offers hints of spice and toast balanced by plenty of acidity. Drink from 2023.