Wine Advisor
L'Eglise Clinet 2010
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at the Southwold Bordeaux 2010 tasting. The Chateau L'Eglise-Clinet 2010 has a broody, marine-influenced bouquet that is sulky at first, but opens nicely with seaweed and iodine-tinged black fruit unfolding with every swirl of the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with a succulent entry. Rounded and velvety smooth, gentle grip but very powerful towards the showy and generous Merlot-driven finish. I guessed it to be Clinet before its identity was revealed! Tasted January 2014.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Proprietor Denis Durantou has again produced one of Bordeaux’s most profound wines, which seems to be happening routinely at this tiny estate on the Pomerol plateau. Opaque purple to the rim, with a wonderfully sweet nose of mulberry and black fruit, hints of mocha and caramel, and some subtle background oak, the 2010 is very expansive, multi-dimensional, with stunning purity, richness and equilibrium. The finish is very long, with significant tannins, but they are beautifully integrated. This is a massive L’Eglise Clinet that will need 8-10 years of cellaring at the very minimum, and should keep for 40+ years.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted from various barrels, this note is from the final blend in Darnajou barrel. It will consist of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, picked between 20th and 27th September and 1st October respectively. The bouquet is very intense with ebullient ripe red berried, truffle and briary, an underlying mineralite that is sure to become more evident as its ages in bottle. The palate is full-bodied with very fine tannins, intense dark berried fruit, a touch of blackberry and crushed stone. There is exceptional delineation on the finish that is poised and coiled like a spring. Wonderful. N.B. Tasted from the Taransaud bottle I found more richness on the nose, a touch more opulence and perhaps more “juicier”. Whatever…it’s gonna be awesome. Tasted April 2011.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the property, the L’Eglise-Clinet 2010 was absolutely stunning from barrel and in bottle, Denis Durantou’s tour de force does not disappoint. It is imbued with an effortless quality on the nose: briary, raspberry preserve, crushed stone and just a hint of cassis. It is a linear nose – not extravagant or powerful – but very expressive of its terroir. The palate is medium-bodied with unbelievable intensity (not concentration) on the entry, the flavours almost regimented in their precision: fresh strawberry, raspberry, a hint of graphite and a touch of orange peel. It is so fresh, so animated and energetic that you want to keep taking sip after sip. This is a monumental L’Eglise-Clinet – quite profound. Tasted November 2012.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
This wine will likely be a major superstar with about 10-15 years of cellaring. It was one of the more closed and difficult wines to penetrate and one of probably only a dozen or so 2010s that I only had one chance to taste from bottle, but it is loaded with fabulous raw materials. The 2010 is a profound effort, but it needs to be forgotten for at least a decade. This opaque purple wine offers up notes of caramelized black currant and black cherry candies intermixed with some very high class, subtle vanillin and toast. Hints of licorice, mocha and perhaps even a touch of chocolate are also present in this full-bodied, super-duper, concentrated, classic wine, which has everything in perfect proportions. But in the finish, its whoppingly big tannins kick in and basically announce that drinking this wine now would be infanticide. Look for this wine to last for at least 50+ years. Proprietor Denis Durantou has been on a hot streak, and is one of those perfectionist proprietors who seems tortured by their compulsion to do everything so well. Believe me, as a wine drinker, you want people like Durantou making the wines!
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Deep garnet colored, the 2010 L'Eglise Clinet begins unassumingly with gentle notions of fragrant dried flowers and wild sage leading to savory nut and meat characters over an expanding core of preserved plums, blueberry compote and black cherry coulis plus a waft of menthol. Full-bodied, concentrated and wonderfully decadent, the palate is absolutely packed with rich, ripe black fruit preserves and loads of spicy sparks, framed by super ripe, super plush tannins, finishing very long and decadent. I love the interplay of subtly and power here - this is truly a WOW wine!
Reviewed by: Ian d'Agata
(90% merlot with 10% cabernet franc) Deep ruby-purple; much darker than La Petite Eglise. Enticing floral nose offers refined, delicate aromas of cassis, spicy dried herbs, coffee and violet. Dense and round but juicy in the mouth, with bright black fruit and underbrush flavors nicely lifted by lively acidity. This has a captivating seamless quality and lingers impressively on the long, rising, firmly tannic but smooth finish. Less accessible than the 2009 was at the same stage of development, this will greatly improve with bottle age and should be long-lived. One of the wines of the vintage, but don't even think of opening a bottle before 2020.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2010 L’Eglise-Clinet comes across a little introverted and sullen on the nose compared to its peers in this very strong flight. It is attractive in its own way with pretty red berry fruit, briary and rose petals, but declines to reveal its complexity. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, slightly lactic in style, modern in the context of this Pomerol cru, but well balanced on the finish. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2010 l’Eglise-Clinet was harvested from 20 to 27 September and matured in 80% new oak. It has a magnificent bouquet with multi-layered red and black fruit, black truffle, a hint of clove and bay leaf, just a nose that is “vrai Pomerol”. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, chalky tannin. There is impressive depth here, a firm grip in the mouth, although it has softened (a little) since I last tasted it. What I adore is the symmetry of this 2010, the tension and the energy conveyed by the finish. That said, it is nowhere near ready and requires several years in bottle before it reaches its drinking window. Behold a titan of a Pomerol. Tasted at the l’Eglise-Clinet vertical at the château in April 2018.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Good deep red. Wild, superripe nose combines dark raspberry, black olive, smoked meat, mocha and sexy oak. Hugely rich and sweet but structured too, offering outstanding depth to its flavors of berries, dark chocolate, espresso, graphite and underbrush. Finishes with huge but noble tannins and outstanding persistence. As rich and concentrated as this is, it somehow maintains a light touch. A great expression of merlot with the sheer strength of material and structure for a long life in bottle.
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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