Chateau L´Eglise Clinet 2019

JAMES SUCKLING: "This is amazingly perfumed with amazing aromas of fresh violets and pink roses. Blackberries and dark fruit. Black truffle and stone. It’s full-bodied with fantastic structure and tannins. Yet, it’s weightless and so beautiful. The length is ethereal and goes on for minutes. You taste it and it’s so wonderful that you want to drink it. One for the cellar. Better in 2028, but already a joy."

WEINWISSER: "90 % Merlot, 10 % Cabernet Franc, 14,5 %-vol., 70 % neue Barriques. Merlot wurde vom 18. bis 26. September gelesen, der Cabernet Franc am 26. September. Purpur mit rubinroten Reflexen. Ein majestätisches Bouquet mit Wildkirschen, Alpenheidelbeeren, Brombeergelee und betörende Veilchen. Im zweiten Ansatz geröstete Himbeerkerne und tiefgründige Terroirwürze. Am royalen Gaumen mit seidiger Textur, dann packen die massiven Tannine zu, es bleibt alles in perfekter Balance, gestützt von einer mystischen Rasse und kakaoartiger Adstringenz. Ein gebündeltes Feuerwerk von blauen Beeren, schwarze Johannisbeeren und ganz viel Graphit im nicht enden wollenden Finale. Der wird in die Geschichtsbücher eingehen. Das kurze Statement auf dem Factsheet: «Rare!» Danke Denis – für deine Freundschaft, deine direkte Art und die unvergessenen Abende mit dir! Ist aktuell die Nummer 1 in Pomerol!"

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "The last vintage produced by Pomerol legend, Denis Durantou, (who sadly passed away May 2020), is one of his best. A testament to his devotion to his vineyards, the wine explodes with a gorgeous set of aromatics packed with flowers, chocolate, truffle, plums, black cherries, and wet earth. But it is on the palate where the magic takes place. Incredibly concentrated, rich, ostentations, silky and vibrant, the wine offers incredible purity to the fruit, which is a good thing because the finish is not something you want to lose sight of, as its showy display of chocolate-tinged, dark red fruits, licorice, spice, and black cherries lingers, builds and expands. Built to age and evolve, give it some time in the cellar and enjoy it for 3 decades with ease. This is exactly the type of wine Denis Durantou truly loved making. Owners of this beauty should toast him and his years of work at L'Eglise Clinet. I know I will. Drink from 2033-2060."

DECANTER: "Profoundly fascinating on the nose. Very floral. Irises and violets first, then hints of blossom and a whiff of graphite minerality – and then the fruit starts to appear. Damsons and blueberries, brambles and both black and red cherries. Truffles, too. This has a gorgeous texture. Broad and intense, yet deep and brooding and so soft it’s almost difficult to discern at first the considerable structure. A very fitting if exceptionally poignant tribute to the genius who created it."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Unquestionably one of the wines of the vintage on the right bank, the late Denis Durantou's swan-song 2019 L'Eglise Clinet is showing very well indeed in bottle. Unfurling in the glass with aromas of dark berry fruit mingled with notions of raw cocoa, violets, black truffle, orange rind, burning embers and loamy soil, it's full-bodied, layered and concentrated, its velvety attack segueing into a deep, multidimensional core that's framed by ripe, powdery tannins and lively balancing acids. Seamless but youthfully structured, this is a prodigious young Pomerol that will richly reward bottle age."

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "The 2019 L'Eglise-Clinet, a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, is deep garnet-purple in color. It is a little broody to start, delivering wafts of fragrant soil, truffles, and fennel seed over a core of blackberry pie, prunes, and fruitcake. The medium to full-bodied palate is so concentrated you could stand a spoon up in it, featuring ripe, rounded tannins and soft acidity, finishing long and earthy."

JEB DUNNUCK: "The flagship 2019 Château L'Eglise Clinet is brilliant, unquestionably ranking with the top wines in the appellation. Giving up loads of ripe darker cherries, currants, tobacco, cedarwood, and spring flowers, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a plush, layered, opulent mouthfeel, impressive tannins, and a great finish. I love its mid-palate, and it's one of the bigger, richer, sexier wines in the vintage. I'd be thrilled with bottles in the cellar. It offers pleasure even today yet should hit maturity in 7-8 years and have a drinking window stretching over the following two to three decades."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Subtle but refined with floral notes. Creamy and seductive on the palate with an incredible density of fruit. Impressive structure behind with plentiful tannins but oh, so fine. Texturally smooth and suave. Great length. Powerful but restrained. For long ageing."