Wine Advisor
L'Eglise Clinet 2020
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: William Kelley
A blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, the 2020 L'Eglise Clinet wafts from the glass with aromas of dark berries, mulberries, cherries and cassis mingled with notions of espresso roast, loamy soil, violets and truffle framed by creamy new oak. Full-bodied, layered and concentrated, it's a rich, youthfully firm, muscularly constructed young Pomerol that will richly reward bottle age.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2020 L'Eglise Clinet is a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. The Merlot was picked between the 11th and the 14th of September, and the Cabernet Franc was picked on the 16th of September. It has an alcohol of 14.4% and is aging in French oak barrels, 80% new. Displaying and opaque purple-black color, it needs a bit of swirling to reveal a fascinating array of earthy notes—black truffles, charcoal, mossy tree bark and fallen leaves—over a profound core of preserved plums, blackberry preserves and violets, with a waft of tapenade. The medium to full-bodied palate has exquisitely ripe tannins and bold freshness supporting the seductively ripe, black fruit layers, finishing on a lingering fragrant earth note.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2020 L'Eglise-Clinet is a wine of pure and total sophistication. Dark and racy, with remarkable depth, the 2020 is so exceptionally polished. The 2020 is not a huge Eglise-Clinet, but rather a wine that speaks in a soft, gentle voice. I love its elegance and refinement. All the 2020 needs is time in bottle to be fully expressive, as it is quite embryonic today. Look for this to be a brilliant Pomerol in another handful of years.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2020 L'Eglise-Clinet is a towering wine. I am not sure what else to say. After having tasted hundreds of 2020s, L'Eglise-Clinet very clearly claims a stake for itself among the wines of the vintage. L'Eglise-Clinet can be a brute in its youth, but the 2020 is all finesse. Sweet red/purplish fruit, rose petal, blood orange and pomegranate are some of the nuances that emerge over time. Perhaps keeping the temperatures a bit cooler in fermentation explains the extraordinary finesse here. The 2020 simply can't be denied.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2020 L'Eglise-Clinet takes time to open up in the glass, so I afford it 15-20 minutes to aerate. It's definitely worth a bit of patience. It delivers exquisite, ineffably pure aromas of black fruit, pressed violet, hints of marmalade and truffle. Amazing focus and precision. The palate is medium-bodied with finely-chiseled tannins, crisp and taut, just a very slight creaminess in terms of texture towards the second half with a long, peppery tail on the aftertaste. This is a quite fabulous Pomerol that will give 20+ years of drinking pleasure. Noemie Durantou feels this has more depth than the 2019 and she may well be right…
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2020 l’Eglise-Clinet is very deep in color. It has an intense nose featuring blackberry, wild strawberry, touches of Japanese nori and light basalt aromas, gaining in intensity and clarity over the 60 minutes I spent analyzing the sample. The palate has exquisite balance and a silver bead of acidity that slices through the pure black fruit with effortless ease. This is a very harmonious and focused L’Eglise-Clinet, and as always, it is not an immediately crowd-pleasing Pomerol. You have to sit with it and examine its facets, including those that require unlocking with aeration. There is wonderful salinity on the finish, and awe-inspiring persistence. A magnificent testament to a great winemaker.
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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