Château Rouget 2017 is a beautiful Pomerol that shows off both power and finesse. With bold Merlot leading the charge, this vintage delivers layers of juicy dark berries, tobacco, leather, and earthy spice—all wrapped in silky tannins. Despite a tricky year with frost damage, this wine shines with remarkable precision and depth. Already drinking well, but it’ll evolve beautifully for years. Definitely a gem worth stashing in your cellar—or enjoying now with a good meal.

Jamessuckling.com | JS 95
Published: Dec 16, 2019

Yum. Wonderful aromas of crushed berries, wet earth, sweet tobacco and fresh leather. Full body. Very tight, pinpointed palate with depth and length, too. The precision and balance is exceptional here. Try after 2023, but already a beauty.

Decanter | D 91
Published: Sep 21, 2019
Drink: 2022-2040

Black pepper and cloves on the attack, with bigger tannins overall than many in this vintage, and attractive menthol notes on the finish. This is good, if austere. Frost meant there was no second wine, Carillon de Rouget, in 2017.
Closure: Cork
Alcohol: 14.50%
Body: Full
Oak: Oaked
Grapes: 15% Cabernet Franc 85% Merlot

The Wine Advocate | RP 90
Published: Mar 16, 2020
Drink: 2020-2030

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Rouget has a pronounced nose of stewed plums, sautéed herbs, baked black cherries and mulberries with wafts of fallen leaves and unsmoked cigars. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers loads of savory-laced black fruit preserves, with a chewy texture and earthy finish.

Chateau-rouget.com

- 2017 -

The first winter months were abnormally dry, but February and March 2017 saw quantities of water rarely observed in the vineyard. Bud break started early and the vegetatiohttps://cms.vinium.com/img/backOffice/back.pngn has advanced in April. The buds were homogeneous and are well spread over the vine. We did not observe any presence of fungous diseases.
On April 28th and 29th, an unprecedented in the last 25 years episode of frost has touched most of the western parcels of the property, irremediably impeding the future Carillon de Rouget 2017.
The high temperatures in the beginning of May helped vines to continue growing regularly and healthily.
Flowering begun on 15th May for Merlot and on 20th May for the Cabernet Franc and both were perfectly homogeneous. Veraison was completed by 12th July.
Harvest took place from 20th to 29th September, first for Merlot and then for Cabernet Franc. More than ever before it was haute couture work since each parcel was picked in several steps depending on maturity of the grapes.

Terroir
Gravelous soils mixed with clay. This soil composition, combined with an exceptional exposure, confers all the typicity, elegance and finesse to Château Rouget wines.

Grape Varieties
85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc
Planting density: 3 000 vines per acre / 7 500 vines per hectare
Average age of vines: 40 years

Soil management
Vineyards are farmed sustainably, using practices such as cover crops and ploughing.

Harvests
Grapes are manually picked and carefully transported in small 20 kg crates. Harvest occurs in several steps, in order to secure an optimal maturity level. Bunches are sorted a first time as soon as they arrive in the cellar. Then, once the grapes are fully destemmed, they go through another double sorting table.

Winemaking & Ageing
14.5+% alc./vol.
Vinification: 40% barrel fermentation, 60% oak vats
Ageing: 30% new barrels