L'Eglise Clinet 2019

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Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 L'Eglise Clinet has a powerfully fragrant nose of violets, star anise, powdered cinnamon and jasmine over a core of plum preserves, blackberry pie, Black Forest cake and camphor with wafts of crushed rocks and iron ore. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is an exercise in poise and precision, possessing remarkably well-defined, bright, energetic black fruit and minerally layers, supported by beautifully ripe, rounded tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with a long-lingering, mesmerizing array of earth, rock and glittery fruit nuances. This is a wine that will stop you in your tracks and demand you to think, contemplate and reflect. And if all that isn’t enough, it is also fantastically delicious. The blend this year is 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc.

robert_parker98

Reviewed by: William Kelley

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.

vinous98

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

The 2019 L'Eglise-Clinet is a stunning, drop-dead gorgeous beauty. Finesse and power come together in a Pomerol that towers with dazzling intensity. Gravel, dried herbs, flowers, mocha and licorice soar out of the glass. In 2019 L'Eglise-Clinet is a vertical wine, a wine of stature, class and pedigree that will reward those lucky enough to own it with many years of very fine drinking. It's impossible to taste the 2019 and not think about the late Denis Durantou and what he achieved in his last vintage. Daughters Constance and Noémi Durantou seem to really understand the legacy they have been entrusted to honor and then build on themselves.

vinous99

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

The 2019 L'Eglise-Clinet, Denis Durantou's last vintage, is also very clearly one of the wines of the year. A Pomerol of soaring, majestic intensity L'Eglise-Clinet dazzles from start to finish. Layers of dark fruit, gravel, spice and dried flowers unfold over time. I followed this sample for several days and it never lost any intensity over that time. I find the 2019 incredibly elegant and polished, but then again, I also tasted it a few months later than normal because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Merlot was harvested from September 18 to 26, while the Franc came all in on the 26th. Readers who can find the 2019 should not hesitate, as it is a true masterpiece. Denis Durantou's 2019s are absolutely brilliant across the board. My tasting was obviously bittersweet, as Durantou lost his battle with illness just a few weeks prior. Denis Durantou was one of the most intriguing characters in Bordeaux. I can't say I knew him well, but I always enjoyed tasting with him, as he was a person that spoke more with his eyes than with words. Things were implied rather than overtly stated. So, I tasted the 2019s with daughters Constance and Noémie over Zoom, in typical 2020 fashion. The Durantou sisters describe 2019 as a year with an early flowering and homogenous ripening that led to small, concentrated berries and higher pHs than normal. Temperatures were kept cool in the cellar, where both alcoholic and malolactic fermentations took place over cuvaison of 21 days (for all wines), in a reductive environment with little oxygen. From top to bottom, the Durantou 2019s are positively stellar. Don't miss them!

vinous98

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2019 L'Eglise-Clinet has a very pure and almost Burgundian bouquet with wild strawberry, Morello cherries, touches of cassis and violet petals. This is one of the most sensual in the line-up. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, velvety in texture, quite tensile thanks to the acidity. Beguiling purity, plush black cherries, plum and white pepper with a long and spicy finish. Superb. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.

vinous98

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2019 l’Église-Clinet has a brilliantly defined bouquet with echoes of the equally showstopping Trotanoy that I tasted just a couple of hours before. Crystalline red fruit and hints of blood orange intermingle with crushed stone and truffle. The palate is medium-bodied with an immediately seductive, satin-like texture belying the backbone of this Pomerol. Lightly spiced and fanning out with intention on the finish, this will, as I wrote before, stand as the perfect testament to Denis Durantou as his daughters carry on his legacy.

vinous99

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2019 L'Eglise-Clinet is destined to be remembered as Denis Durantou's last vintage before he passed away in May 2020. It is a fitting testament to the late winemaker. It is blessed with a bewitching bouquet laden with intense, vivid red berry fruit suffused with liquorice, black pepper and clove scents. Extremely complex. The palate is wonderfully proportioned with fine tannins that frame the layered black and red fruit, lightly spiced with hints of tobacco and cracked black pepper on the finish imparted by that seasoning of Cabernet Franc. Quintessential l'Eglise-Clinet, it will give half a century of drinking pleasure and the perfect way to remember and raise a toast to one of Pomerol's finest vignerons.