2024 L'if St. Émilion Bordeaux France Wine Tasting Note
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2024
L'if (St. Émilion)
Initially you find notes of crushed rocks, before you delve into the flowers, plums, licorice, and salty cherries in the perfume. On the palate, the wine is sweet, juicy, fresh, and expressing a gorgeous sense of purity, lift, energy, and elegance, finishing with sweet, ripe, red plums, and raspberries. The wine blends 85% Merlot with 15% Cabernet Franc, 13% ABV, pH 3.37. The harvest took place October 4 - October 8. Drink from 2028-2042. 92-94 Pts 898 Views Tasted Apr 29, 2025 |
When to Drink L'if, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time
L'if is much better with at least 10-15 years of aging in good vintages. Young vintages can be decanted for 1-2 hours or more. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume.
Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment. L'if offers its best drinking and should reach peak maturity between 10-30 years of age after the vintage.
Serving L'if with Wine, Food, Pairing Tips
L'if is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift. L'if is best paired with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes.
L'if is also good when matched with Asian dishes, and hearty fish courses like tuna, mushrooms, and pasta.
While 2010 was released with the new name coming from Jacques Thienpont, 2011 marked the debut vintage of Chateau L’if that was produced under the complete control of the Thienpont family.
Interestingly, at least in America, 2010 bottled using the spelling of the phonetic pronunciation of the wine, Chateau Leaf. The 2012 L'if was the debut vintage offered for sale as a future. The first few vintages did not include any Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend.
L'if is a stylish, sensuous, elegant new Saint Emilion wine that is well worth keeping your eye on. to It is hard to find, but it is truly worth the effort to try scoring a few bottles. Knowing the team and the vineyard, this is going to be a very in-demand wine.