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Reviews

98 -Vinous -

The 2020 L'Eglise-Clinet has a very intense bouquet with multi-layered red and black fruit, cedar and iron scents—complex and engaging, though there is a touch of oak still to be assimilated. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe, saturated tannins. Satin-textured, seamless and very precise with an irresistible, youthful, sensual finish, this is a brilliant wine that needs a few years in bottle (if you can resist). Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

98 -James Suckling -

97+ -Jeb Dunnuck -

A riveting Pomerol that checks in as 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc that spent 18 months in 80% new French oak. Offering a restrained, yet concentrated, structured style, it reveals classic notes of red and black currants, leafy tobacco, loamy earth, and chocolate. This carries to a full-bodied, powerful, tannic 2020 that needs a solid 7-8 years of bottle age. It's going to be long-lived but is not for those seeking instant gratification.

97 -Robert Parker's Wine Advocate -

A blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, the 2020 L'Eglise Clinet wafts from the glass with aromas of dark berries, mulberries, cherries and cassis mingled with notions of espresso roast, loamy soil, violets and truffle framed by creamy new oak. Full-bodied, layered and concentrated, it's a rich, youthfully firm, muscularly constructed young Pomerol that will richly reward bottle age.

97 -Decanter -

Smooth and silky, rich for sure, you know you're in Pomerol in a ripe vintage with just-chewy tannins but that also have a cooling, crisp edge. Lots of herbal nuances and some bitterness in the coffee, black chocolate, clove and tobacco nuances but there’s good acidity and vibrancy overall. Really well controlled and delivered, retaining a sense of punchy classicism balancing richness, freshness, delicacy and plushness.

Technical Details

Blend 85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc
Winemaker Olivier Gautrot with Noemie and Constance Durentou
Country France
Region Bordeaux
Sub Region Right Bank
Appellation Pomerol
Vineyard Estate old vines, 25% over 75 years old, average age 40 years
Farming Method Organic fertilization only, every 5 years
Oak 70% new French oak
Fermentation Small, temperature-controlled stainless-stell vats
Aging / Cooperage 70% new French oak for 15 to 18 months
Alcohol 14.5%
Production 1000 cases

Château L'Église-Clinet Pomerol 2020

Name: Château L'Église-Clinet Pomerol 2020
Brand: First Bottle
SKU: 1014994
Price: 279.0 USD
Availability: InStock

Bordeaux Blends | Bordeaux

VN98, JS98, JD97+, WA97, DC97

Organic fertilization only, every 5 years

$500.00

$279.00

750ML

44% OFF RETAIL!

Vinous awarded the 2020 L'Église-Clinet 98 points, James Suckling 98, Jeb Dunnuck 97+, Wine Advocate 97, and Decanter 97. The estate was in its transition period following Denis Durantou's passing, with Noëmie and Constance carrying the work forward, and the wine speaks to both the continuity of the estate's exceptional terroir and the quality of what their father built. Deep, opulent, and structured, with the characteristic Pomerol generosity of this great address woven through a long, precise, and mineral finish. Incredibly priced for a wine of this caliber. It won't be here long.

About The Producer

The origins of Château L'Église-Clinet trace back to 1803, when Jean Rouchut first acquired vines adjacent to a small cemetery in Pomerol, with the estate taking shape in 1882 when the family expanded through the acquisition of neighboring plots from the Domaine de Clinet. For most of its early history it was a quiet, unremarkable property — until Denis Durantou inherited it and took over operations in 1983. What he found was a cellar in disrepair: dirt floors, aging untempered vats, no temperature control. What followed was one of Pomerol's great transformation stories. Durantou replanted much of the 5.5-hectare vineyard, rebuilt the cellar from the ground up, and within two years began producing wines that drew mounting critical attention through the 1990s. Robert Parker famously called it "the sleeper château of the century," and the wines — concentrated, opulent, and built on some of the plateau's finest blue clay soils — earned comparisons to Pétrus at a fraction of the price. Durantou passed away in May 2020, a genuine loss to the world of Bordeaux, and today the estate is carried forward by his daughters Noémie and Constance Durantou, who are continuing his meticulous, low-intervention approach across the 4.4-hectare cross-shaped vineyard planted to 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc. Few estates in Pomerol have earned their reputation as honestly.

$500.00

$279.00

750ML

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