Wine Advisor
La Clotte 2001
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
While slightly lighter than the superb 2000, without the volume or power of the former vintage, the 2001 La Clotte is an attractive offering with supple tannin and sweet black cherry as well as plum fruit intermixed with herbs and cedar. Medium-bodied and fleshy, it is best drunk during its first 8-15 years of life.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 2001, while lighter than the 2000, without the volume or power of the former vintage, is an attractive offering with supple tannin, and sweet black cherry fruit intermixed with herbs and cedar. This is an up and coming St.-Emilion property. This medium-bodied and fleshy wine is best drunk during its first 8-10 years of life. This ten acre vineyard is planted with 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and has the renowned Stephane Derenoncourt as a consultant.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The dark ruby-colored 2001 displays abundant quantities of sweet, herbaceous-tinged, earthy, spicy, black cherry fruit. Medium-bodied with good texture, this attractive effort is best consumed over the next 5- 8 years. This appears to be an up and coming property now that Stephane Derenoncourt has been brought in as a consultant. I have always liked this approachable, plush, character-filled St.-Emilion. The 10-acre vineyard (one of the few terraced vineyards in St.-Emilion) is planted with 80% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, all at least 40 years of age.
About the Producer
Located in the Saint-Emilion appellation of Bordeaux, France, Chateau La Clotte sits on one of the oldest vineyards on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. The vineyard covers 4 hectares and is planted to Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, mainly on clay and limestone soils. The vines are old, with an average age of almost 50 years, and planted at a density of 6,500 vines per hectare. During the ripening stage, the winery conducts regular experimental analyses in order to determine the final harvesting time. For the winemaking, the grapes are picked by hand, macerated at low temperatures and fermented in stainless steel tanks equipped with temperature control facilities. During this period, daily drenching, cap pressing and tank decanting and back-mixing are carried out to enhance the contact between the juice and the skins in order to extract more pigments and tannins. After fermentation, the wine is aged in 50% new French oak barrels, depending on the quality of the grapes, usually around 15 months. The wine produced by Château La Clotte is called Chateau La Clotte, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classe, France. The wines are of excellent quality, reasonably priced, rich in minerality, rich and full-bodied, and loved by the elite of the wine industry. Recent vintages of Château Claret have won praise from several wine critics and wine review magazines, including Robert Parker Points, James Suckling and Wine Enthusiast, for their excellent quality, including a 95+ score for the 2015 vintage. with a score of 95+.
