The 2014 l'If has a pretty bouquet, quite intense with hints of licorice infusing the bright and vivid black cherry and blueberry fruit. With time, there is an intriguing melted tar scent. The palate is medium-bodied with quite firm tannin. This l'If seems to have tightened up since I tasted it from barrel, yet it retains impressive focus and energy, long and tender in the mouth with that licorice touch returning on the finish. Excellent, but give this three or four years in bottle.
BOW (8.25)
James Suckling (98)
he purity and complexity of fruit on the nose are really exceptional with blackberries, cloves, nutmeg and stones. Flowers, too! Full-bodied, yet bright and reserved with everything compacted in the center palate. Acidity is delicious. A superb wine. Give it time to open and show everything, but it’s so wonderful now.
Falstaff (94)
From the limestone plateau, Mondotte sector, under the direction of Jacques Thienpont (Château Le Pin). Closed, with notes of cherry and garden herbs, sage, some wood. Precise in its maturity: neither overripe nor underripe. Juicy on the palate, nervous, delicately extracted, delicate and firm, with a minerally touch, dense and fresh. A quiet, stylish wine.
