Chateau Grand Ormeau Cuvee Chevalier Lalande de Pomerol 2019

Château Grand Ormeau sits in upper Lalande de Pomerol, just across the Barbanne stream from Pomerol, on gravel over clay rich in iron oxide. The estate appears in the 1874 Féret guide among the appellation’s leading properties. Jean-Claude Beton, creator of Orangina, restored it from 1988 with Michel Rolland consulting, and the current team has run it since 2017.

Cuvée Chevalier comes from three hectares of the estate’s younger vines: 80 percent Merlot with Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, hand harvested and sorted, then raised 80 percent in vat and 20 percent in seasoned barrels to keep the fruit forward. The 2019 shows dark plum, black cherry, violet, and a ferrous mineral edge, with tannins now fully folded in. Ready now, or hold another three years.