Freddy R. Troya

9.2

Château Garraud – Lalande de Pomerol / 2018
AOC Lalande de Pomerol – Right Bank, Bordeaux, France 🇫🇷

Overview
From the Esnée family estate, this red Bordeaux blend is composed of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. The Garraud vineyards lie just north of Pomerol proper, where gravelly and clay soils echo the region’s reputation for plush yet structured wines.

Aromas & Flavors
Lush black cherry, plum compote, and cassis wrapped in notes of violet, cocoa, and cedar. Subtle graphite and earthy tobacco hints reflect the Cabernet Franc influence.

Mouthfeel
Full-bodied yet polished, with supple tannins and a round mid-palate. Concentrated fruit depth balances with freshness, finishing long and silky with lingering spice.

Food Pairings
Duck breast with cherry glaze, roast lamb, or beef bourguignon. Mushroom risotto, charcuterie, or truffle pasta. Comté, aged Gouda, or Saint-Nectaire.

Verdict
A classic Right Bank profile: generous Merlot fruit framed by Cabernet Franc finesse. Traditional, powerful, and approachable, drinking beautifully now but with the structure to evolve gracefully for another 8–10 years.

Did You Know?
Lalande de Pomerol, though often overshadowed by its famous neighbor Pomerol, offers exceptional value. Many estates here share the same terroir characteristics, producing wines of impressive depth at a fraction of Pomerol’s price tag.

🍷 Personal Pick Highlight: This bottle delivers Right Bank soul without the Pomerol price, rich yet refined, and an excellent “insider’s pick” for Bordeaux lovers. Cheers! — 12 days ago

Enebro Avila

9.5

Con los síntomas de un poco excesivo envejecimiento, pero en muy buen estado tras 43 años — a month ago

Alexandre Pagliano

9.0

Dark rubi robe, nose of blackcurrant, cedar-wood, exotic spices. Very very merlot, ripe but not over, its a high octane wine that shows a bit of its 15 degrees on the finish. Not our favorite vintage but the wine is super well done and might benefit from a few more years on bottle. — 2 months ago

with Jose, veronique and 1 other

Tom Casagrande

9.2

For me, this is perfectly aged. Still some nice fruit, but loads of clay-like minerality and cedar in the nose. Soft and palate-coating but with nice balance, the tannins are still present but are not obtrusive. Really long, clingy finish. Really fine. — 4 days ago

Ki Punwar

Owner, California Wine Republic

9.0

Tart cherries , nice acidity. Easy to like — 11 days ago

David Koenen

9.5

Birth year tastings, evening 4.
Polished leather, nuts, ecoline, grilled red pepper, tomato leaf, gingerbread, pepper, salty savoriness, tannins still present, still youthful, lots of future. Muscular! Beautiful. — a month ago

romo

9.4

Maturing beautifully with menthol, cigar leaf, spearmint and blackberry preserve. (Too) easy drinking. — a month ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.3

Medium deep garnet ruby , quite thin garnet terracotta rim . This is quite classic and more austere on the nose after the 1990s , grafite , cedar, sweet spice , earthiness and mint. More dry and four square on the palate compared to the 1990s but enough stuffing to fill out. Cassis , plum and blackberry , coffee , grafite . Refreshing acidity , slightly grippy drier tannin. Sous bois , grafite , herbal character with good length and earthy cassis finish . This got better with time in the glass and probably should have been decanted . This shows there is some upside , from now , with time in the glass, and over the next 10 years. The wine that improved the most during the dinner , quite impressive . — 7 days ago

Alvaro Bustillos

9.0

Juan cortina sulaiman — a month ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.3

Blend of 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc, deep Ruby with aromas of dark fruits, smoke and flinty notes, aged 40% new French oak. On the palate flavors of blackberry and black cherry with cacao, cedar, espresso and spicy notes. Lively acidity, firm dusty tannins, medium+ finish ending with fruit, tobacco and spicy oak. Needs a little more time in bottle. — 2 months ago