"Very fine and velvety tannins in the mouth with juicy fruit that gives dark-berry, chocolate and spice character. Medium to full body. Bright acidity. Harmonious and very pretty. Pure merlot. Reminds me of the 2012, but shows a little more ripeness and suppleness."

94-95 points, James Suckling

"The 2017 L'Evangile is deep garnet-purple in colour, featuring a profoundly scented nose of plum preserves, smoked meats, chargrill and cigar box with touches of licorice, tapenade, tar and truffles plus an earthy waft of underbrush. The palate is medium to full-bodied with a lovely purity of black and blue fruits, accented with baking spice notions and framed by plush tannins that offer just the right amount of provocative grip, finishing long and earthy.

Sadly, the old vine Cabernet Franc at L’Evangile was completely frosted this year. Unsurprisingly, it was the plots on the plateau that were relatively unscathed, but those near Cheval Blanc and Bon Pasteur were frosted. Thus, for the very first time this year, the wine is made with 100% Merlot. “We had to paint vines with different colours according to the amount of frost damage they received,” operations manager Jean Pascal Vazart informed me. “Overall yields were down to 20 hl/ha this year, which is a little misleading because the unscathed plots gave 40 hl/ha and some affected plots gave 3 hl/ha."

93-95 points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW

"The 2017 L’Evangile is picked from 4 September to 3 October. There is no Cabernet Franc since it was frosted over (50% of the vineyard) and so Jean-Pierre Vazart said it is missing some of its power. He marked all the vines with different colours to indicate those affected so that none of the second-generation fruit was used for the Grand Vin. Yields came in at 20hl/ha and it is matured in 100% new oak. It has a deep inky purple hue. The new wood comes over quite strongly as it often does, perhaps missing the Cabernet Franc component to support that level of wood? There are light floral scents: wilted iris and violet that spring up with aeration although I would still like to see more terroir expression. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, mocha and dark chocolate on the entry with a fine bead of acidity. But I have a nagging question of whether a more prudent approach to the new oak might have engendered a more endearing L’Evangile, I was a bit disturbed by the level of wood tannin on the finish. I will be more than happy to upgrade my score if the tannin will be absorbed during élevage and with bottle age and I will be more than happy to upgrade my score."

90-92 points, Neal Martin

"Unusually, 100% Merlot because of frosted Cabernet Franc. At the time of tasting this wine en primeur, they had not decided if there would be a second wine (Blason), explained operations manager Jean Pascal Vazart.

Very dark crimson. Dark, savoury and a touch meaty – beefy. A hint of oak char. Very ripe and spicy fruit flavours, even a hint of dried fruit. Structured and muscular. Compact tannins – smooth but a touch chewy. Savoury, rather than fruity, and firmly dry on the finish. 14.6% Drink 2025-2035"

16.5 points, jancisrobinson.com