The 2014 L'Evangile comes racing out of the blocks on the nose with plenty of black cherry, blueberry, cold stone and black truffle scents, quintessentially Pomerol with impressive delineation and focus. The palate is medium-bodied with a slightly grainy texture, lovely black fruit here laced with Earl Grey, spice and sage, quite intense and fanning out gloriously towards the long finish. This seems to have gained precision after bottling and I did warn that it may merit a higher score. This is a deeply impressive L'Evangile that might challenge Lafite-Rothschild in the long term. Chapeau!

Rose petals aromatics, attractive juicy character, there is balance here, and a slow unrolling of liquorice, black chocolate, peach pit. I got a second bottle of this, and it really delivered the depth and texture that you want in L'Evangile, but worth noting there may be bottle variation. 80% new oak.

Seriously potent and fragrant on the nose, floral aromas and dark fruits. Feels a little pushed from the nose alone. Relatively round and balanced on the palate, a thicker texture than some, not chewy but grippy thick tannins settle around the mouth and this carries a confident style, not too acidic, it's more calm, but still has persistence and harmony. Not the most layered, but what is there is really quite enjoyable. Will be great with food and will still last longer. If anything it does feel a little ripe and over-extracted, but seems to settling down nicely with soft spice and wet stones on the finish. Feels like it once was a bit of a beast, but it's now calming.

The 2014 L'Évangile is laced with black cherry, torrefaction, spice, leather, licorice and heavy French oak. It will be interesting to see if the fruit emerges here. Today, the oak is quite dominant in both the wine's flavor profile and its texture. I would like to think a little more nuance is possible given L'Évangile's neighborhood.

Tasted blind. Deeply coloured. Fresh and cedary. Lively, pretty mature and leathery on the palate but has satisfying richness in the middle. I would normally expect this wine to be a keeper but I am not so sure about this vintage. (JH)