Chateau L'Evangile

From Fazilleau to the Rothschilds

The history of this property dates back to the mid-18th century. At that time, when Pomerol's first vineyards began to be established, it was named Fazilleau by its founders, the Léglise family. In the early 19th century, a local lawyer purchased the land and renamed it L'Évangile.

In 1862, ownership passed to Paul Chaperon, and his descendants, the Ducasse family, owned the estate for over a century. Chaperon expanded the property, and by 1900, L'Évangile was regarded as the third-finest wine from Pomerol.

Then, in 1956, a frost struck, dealing a severe blow to the vineyard. Louis Ducasse took over operations here in 1957, setting a firm goal to restore the vineyard to its former glory. After he passed away in 1982, his wife, Simone Ducasse, took over the business.

Domaines Barons de Rothschild purchased a 70% stake in 1990 and completed the acquisition in 1999. Renovations began immediately. New fermentation rooms, new storage facilities, and new oak barrel specifications were introduced. It is rare to find a case where a change in ownership is so clearly reflected in a single glass of wine as it is with L'Évangile.

The vineyards

Location is crucial in Pomerol, and Château L'Évangile is one of the best examples illustrating this point. Pétrus lies to the north of this vineyard and Cheval Blanc to the south.

Yields are low. Harvesting is done entirely by hand and very conscientious, a practice that, while not uncommon among the top wineries in the Pomerol region, does place a cap on the amount of wine produced each year.

This vineyard is planted with Merlot and Cabernet Franc varieties, and the ratio of the two varies from parcel to parcel. Which grapes are used for the grand vin is determined by the ripeness of each plot, and since the release of the second wine, new opportunities have opened up for utilizing the remaining grapes.

The terroir

Since Pomerol is known for its clay soil, the gravel on the surface of Château L'Évangile is often discussed. Gravel is relatively rare here, which affects the vineyard's drainage and the fruit's ripening process.

Currently, the most important issue is the climate. Domaines Barons de Rothschild has been conducting research across its entire estate on how global warming is altering the vineyard's potential, and the group's technical director argues that, unlike the approach Bordeaux has taken as it has grown, terroir must be interpreted from a more flexible and less dogmatic perspective.

Weather forecasts, biodynamic cultivation experiments, and soil management: the group treats these elements not as mere principles but as practical tools. L'Évangile is one of the vineyards where this approach is applied.

Merlot leads

The vineyard cultivation ratios for Château L'Évangile are typically broken down as follows:

• 80% Merlot
• 20% Cabernet Franc

The final blending ratio varies from year to year, sometimes showing significant differences. In 1995, the proportion of Cabernet Franc was 24%; this was the first year since 1990 that all the Cabernet Franc grapes in the vineyard had ripened sufficiently to be used. In other years, the proportion of Merlot can rise to the mid-80s, and the blend may include about 1% Cabernet Sauvignon.

The winemaking

After Rothschild took over ownership, construction began immediately. A new fermentation room and storage facility were built, and newly selected oak barrels were introduced — all of these measures were centred on more refined selection. In other words, the best lots were reserved for the grand vin, while the rest were used to produce wines meant to be enjoyed young.

Although new oak barrels are used, their proportion is not particularly high by the estate's own standards. The 1995 vintage was aged in 42% new oak barrels; at the time, this was considered slightly higher than the estate's average, illustrating the standard the estate has generally maintained.

The winemaking process has been overseen by several people. Jean-Luc Marchive led the winery at the time of the 1995 vintage. More recently, Juliette Couderc has taken over winemaking duties.

From a broader group perspective, Domaines Barons de Rothschild has been promoting sustainable and organic farming practices since Saskia de Rothschild took over management in 2018; the company has not merely adopted biodynamic farming but is conducting in-depth research into it. The vineyard's research and development (R&D) department verifies the effectiveness of new methods before widely implementing them.

The wines

Château L'Évangile is the Grand Vin, a Merlot-dominant Pomerol around which all of the winery's activities revolve. Soft, richly fruity, and classically structured, with Cabernet Franc emphasising structure and vibrancy rather than heaviness.

Blason de L'Évangile is the second wine; it was introduced during the Rothschild era and is blended to be drinkable earlier than the Grand Vin. This wine exists because the selection criteria have become stricter, not the other way around.

The alcohol content is usually around 13.5%, and the wine is medium-bodied, with noticeable oak notes that do not overwhelm the palate. Both labels are made from grapes hand-harvested from the same vineyard, located between Pétrus and Cheval Blanc.

The best vintages of Chateau L'Evangile

The outstanding vintages for Château L’Évangile are: 1947, 1950, 1961, 1966, 1975, 1982, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2018.