Wine Advisor
L'Eglise Clinet 2006
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Potentially the wine of the vintage, proprietor Denis Durantou has fashioned a profound 2006 of great intensity and complexity. Its intense purple hue is accompanied by a glorious nose of melted red and black fruits, spring flowers, truffles, and spice. With massive concentration as well as intensity, but no hard edges, it is a tour de force in winemaking. Multilayered, with incredibly texture and purity as well as a finish that lasts over 60 seconds, this brilliant Pomerol should be accessible in 3-4 years, and last for three decades or more. Bravo!
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at Southwold ’06 Bordeaux tasting. This is tightly wound on the nose but there is good definition: sous-bois, wild blackberry and wild hedgerow complemented by smoke and black truffle. Definitely needs time to unfurl. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins, lovely rounded texture, great depth and cohesion, tarry black fruit, certainly a lot of oak but there is sufficient fruit to be subsumed. Tannic, almost brutish finish suggests that this will need serious cellaring. Tasted January 2010.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted single blind at FINE magazine’s vertical in Dusseldorf. This has a more floral bouquet where the oak needs more time to integrate. Black cherries, crushed stone, just a touch of cassis. With further aeration, there is a curious clayey note that transfers straight to the Pomerol vineyard. The palate is full-bodied, very concentrated with pure blackberry, macerated black cherries and a touch of lemon rind; very good tension towards the finish that does not quite have the peacocks tail at the moment. That will come with time. Tasted February 2011.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Difficult following the 2005, although it makes a sterling effort. The nose is much more introverted at the moment, but it gradually unfurls to reveal ripe blackberry, black plum, a touch of black olive and cassis. Excellent definition and purity as usual. The palate is very ripe, almost viscous on the entry with ripe blackberry, cassis, plum and blueberry. Lovely texture, silky smooth tannins, a surprisingly amount of glycerine towards the finish. The is a superb Pomerol with amazing persistency and grip, just lacquering the mouth with pleasure. Sublime. Drink 2015-2040. Tasted May 2009.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the chateau. Denis Durantou was open enough to forewarn me about the freshness of the sample that he poured for me. Indeed, it was lacking the vigour I expected; therefore two samples are assessed directly from barrel. The new barrel is dominated by new oak on the nose (quel surprise!) but the palate is beautifully poised, not dissimilar to Le Pin, with breathtaking definition and balletic precision. The one drawn from a one-year old barrel was even better, a slightly gamey nose with immense purity and vigour followed by a crisp, powerful palate with an intensity of fruit that you simple have to taste for yourself. A touch of black olives toward the finish. Not as showy or exuberant as the 2005, much more introverted but no less compelling and essential. Tasted April 2007.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
One of the greatest wines of the vintage is, not surprisingly, from proprietor Denis Durantou. A remarkable effort in every sense, the 2006 l’Eglise Clinet is not far off the quality of the prodigious 2005. Its inky/ruby/purple color is accompanied by a powerful nose of mocha, caramelized red and black fruits, smoke, graphite, and truffle. Massive and rich with full-bodied power, excellent focus and definition, and moderately high tannin, this is an “outlier” for the vintage (as Malcolm Gladwell would say) with unbelievable length and richness. Unfortunately, patience will be essential as it needs a minimum of 5-6 years of cellaring. It will age effortlessly for three decades.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at Bordeaux Index's annual 10-Year On tasting in London. The 2006 Château L'Eglise-Clinet has a killer bouquet: intense black and red fruit, crushed rose petals, a touch of potters wheel and dried herbs. It possesses one of the classiest aromatics in the Pomerol appellation. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, dense dark berry fruit laced with black tea, dried herbs and a touch of juniper, gently building towards a lightly spiced, dense finish with impressive substance. This is a long-term Pomerol that needs another 3-4 years in bottle. Tasted January 2016.
About the Producer
Château l'Eglise-Clinet is located in the Pomerol appellation on the right bank of Bordeaux, France, and is one of the most famous wineries in the Pomerol region. Château Clinet Chapel has a long history, dating back to the late 19th century. The Rouchut family, who ran Chateau Clos l'Eglise at the time, and the Constant family, who ran Chateau Clinet, decided to make wine together. Until 1950, the Bordeaux wines produced by these two families were sold under the name Château Claregelis. It was only after 1950 that their wines were given their current name, Château Clignet. Later, the Durantou family acquired Château Clignet. However, the owner was not keen on wine at the time and left everything to Pierre Lasserre, the owner of another Pomerol estate. Pierre Lasserre only had to give him half of the estate's income each year. This partnership has continued for 40 years. Today, Denis Durantou, a descendant of the Durantou family, is in charge of the estate. At present, Château Clignet has 5.5 hectares of vineyards. The soils are mainly gravel and clay, some of which are rich in iron. The vineyards of Château Clignet were spared from the 1956 frosts and the vines are on average 45 years old. The vineyard is planted with 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc at a density of 6,500 vines per hectare. The vineyard is fertilised with an organic fertiliser mix every 5 years. The grapes are hand-picked when they are ripe at Château Clignet. After careful selection and crushing, the grapes are fermented in concrete and stainless steel containers for 15-21 days. After about October, the fermented wine is aged in new oak barrels for a period of 18 months. The main wine of Château Clinet is the Château l'Eglise-Clinet, Pomerol, France. The wines are concentrated and rich, full-bodied, with pure fruit and exotic spice notes, particularly fresh and wonderful, making them unique among Bordeaux wines. In recent years, as the price of the wine has soared, so has the quality. Today, it is in the top tier of Pomerol.
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