France · Bordeaux

Chateau La Violette

Chateau La Violette is a micro-estate in Pomerol covering approximately 5 hectares on the appellation's central clay-gravel plateau, planted entirely to old-vine Merlot. The estate is owned by the Chasseuil family and produces typically under 1,500 cases per vintage. La Violette takes its name from the pronounced violet-flower note that defines young bottles — a floral aromatic signature found in Pomerol's old-vine Merlot grown on clay soils close to the iron-rich central plateau. The wine is notable for its elegance and precision rather than the opulent weight of larger Pomerol estates: linear, perfumed, and mineral. Production is so limited that the estate rarely appears on the radar of casual collectors, yet commands significant prices from those who know it. At auction, La Violette averages $234 per bottle across 234 lots — one of Pomerol's highest average prices outside the ultra-premium tier — with peaks to $1,128. The 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2015 vintages are the estate's strongest secondary market entries, with Wine Advocate scores ranging from 92 to 96 for benchmark years. La Violette represents the secondary market's appetite for micro-production Right Bank Merlot with distinctive terroir character. The estate's tight production of under 1,500 cases annually ensures secondary market supply consistently lags demand from collectors who discovered La Violette's singular aromatic identity.