92-94 WA

Notes:

This is the first of what should be a series of prodigious Nenins. Forty percent of the crop was utilized in this blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. The wine has added considerable fat since tasted last spring. A dense purple color is followed by a gorgeous bouquet of black raspberry/kirsch, vanillin, and spice. Unctuously-textured, dense, and chewy, with low acidity, and a saturating mouth-feel, this is the finest Nenin made in 3-4 decades. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2025. Bravo to Jean-Hubert and Michel Delon! - Robert Parker 92-94

Producer: Château Nénin is one of the larger estates in Pomerol, with a history of family ownership stretching back through the 19th century. The defining moment for the modern property came immediately before the 1997 harvest, when Jean-Hubert Delon purchased Nénin from his cousins, the Despujol family, who had owned it since 1847. The Delon family was already firmly established in Bordeaux through Château Léoville Las Cases and Château Potensac, and Nénin became its major Right Bank property. A comprehensive restructuring began almost immediately: pruning and trellising were reconsidered, vineyard drainage was improved, vines were replanted where necessary, equipment was modernized, and the barrel and storage cellars were rebuilt and expanded. A completely new vat room was also installed. That makes the 1998 particularly significant—it was only the second vintage under Delon ownership and one of the first wines to reflect the changes being made throughout the estate.
Vineyard: Nénin sits on the Pomerol plateau, with an unusually diverse geological profile. The estate’s soils include deep clay and gravel, with Oligocene deposits covered by alluvial gravel formations from the Dordogne. Quartz, granite, iron-rich deposits and basalt pebbles are also found throughout the property. The finest sections are concentrated on the plateau’s clay-gravel soils, which are particularly well suited to Merlot and provide the combination of richness and underlying structure associated with serious Pomerol. 1998 was an exceptional year for Bordeaux’s Right Bank, with the warm, dry conditions of August bringing Merlot to excellent maturity. At Nénin, strict selection was particularly important during this transitional vintage: only around 40% of the crop was selected for the Grand Vin.
Winemaking: The 1998 was made from a Merlot-dominant blend, with Cabernet Franc providing the balance. The fruit was harvested by hand and vinified in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks, with approximately 20–25 days of vatting. The wine was then matured for around 18 months in French oak barrels, approximately 20% of which were new. This was the first full vintage produced after the extensive modernization initiated by Jean-Hubert Delon, so the improved winery allowed for considerably more precise selection and vinification than had previously been possible at the estate. The combination of ripe 1998 Merlot, a substantial Cabernet Franc component and rigorous selection produced a Nénin with the richness expected from Pomerol but enough tannic foundation to develop over an extended period in bottle. Approximately 50,000 bottles were produced.
Technical Details: Pomerol AOC, Bordeaux, France; 750ml. The 1998 blend is reported as 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc by Wine Advocate and several Bordeaux specialists, although some current databases list it as 85% Merlot/15% Cabernet Franc. Given the contemporary Wine Advocate information and the château’s early-Delon-era records cited by multiple merchants, 80/20 is the blend I would use for the listing. The bottle is 13.5% alcohol in the Vins Rare inventory. Only approximately 40% of the harvest went into Château Nénin itself, with the balance excluded from the Grand Vin. The 1998 is particularly noteworthy historically as the first full vintage made following the Delon family’s acquisition and extensive modernization of the property.
Food Pairing: At more than 25 years of age, this is well suited to classic dishes that complement mature Pomerol. Roast lamb, beef tenderloin, duck, braised short ribs and veal with mushrooms are excellent choices. Wild mushrooms are particularly useful with an older Merlot-based Bordeaux, making porcini risotto or gnocchi with a mushroom sauce good alternatives to meat. Aged Comté or Parmesan can also work well. With a mature bottle like this, it is worth standing it upright before service and decanting carefully for sediment rather than automatically giving it prolonged aeration.