Chateau L'Eglise Clinet - Pomerol 2018 (1.5L)

Continue Shopping Add to Wish List

Chateau L'Eglise Clinet is now amongst the elite of Pomerol producers. Its vineyards were originally part of Chateau Clinet and Chateau Clos l`Eglise respectively, and the property came into being in the 1950s. L'Eglise Clinet has been owned and run by Denis Durantou since 1982 until his untimely passing in 2021. Toay it is managed by his daughters. Its 5.5 hectares of vineyards are located on the Pomerol plateau, where the soils are rich in gravel, clay, sand and iron. L'Eglise-Clinet's wine is typically a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc.

One of the blockbusters in the vintage is Denis Durantou's 2018 Château L'Eglise Clinet, which is a normal blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc brought up in 70% new French oak. This deep purple-hued beauty boasts an awesome, full-bodied, opulent personality as well as classic Pomerol notes of blackcurrants, black cherries, damp earth, chocolate, tobacco, and flowers. Rich, concentrated, and sexy, yet not over the top in any way, it expands on the palate, has sweet tannins, background oak, and a great, great finish. It already offers pleasure yet won't hit prime time for another 7-8 years and is going to evolve for 25-30 years or more, and probably have a gradual decline after that. 

This is plush, with touches of chocolate shavings, olive paste, clove, rosemary and sage right from the opening beats. Blackberry and raspberry layer up flavours that lift out of the glass, then the aromatics take over with soft smoke and grilled almonds. Seductive, a reminder of Durantou's ability to tease layers and nuances out of even warm vintages. Austere on the finish, with chalky tannins at this stage - this is knitted down and will reward patience. Low temperature fermentation at around 22C. A yield of 45hl/ha. (Drink between 2027-2044)

The 2018 L’Eglise-Clinet was picked from September 18 to 26 for the Merlot and September 28 for the the Cabernet Franc, and matured in 70% new oak. I gave the bottle a precautionary four-hour decant, which was vital in appreciating this magnificent Pomerol. The aromatics are precocious, pure and finely chiseled, featuring copious black plum and blueberry plus heart-melting violet petal scents. The palate closely approximates the barrel sample with its stunning precision and symmetry. Velvety-smooth from start to finish, this will turn into a fabulous wine from the late Denis Durantou, though be warned: I suspect it might close down for a period after bottling. (Drink between 2028-2050)

 

WA

98

DEC

97

JD

99

JS

99

V

97

Price: $750.00

Sale Price: $579.00

Qty:   Add to Cart

Quantity Available: 1

Producer	Chateau L'Eglise Clinet
Country	France
Region	Bordeaux
Subregion	Pomerol
Varietal	Bordeaux Blend
Vintage	2018
Sku	05814
Size	1.5L