Château L'Eglise Clinet 2020

Smooth and silky, rich for sure, you know you're in Pomerol in a ripe vintage with just-chewy tannins that also have a cooling, crisp edge. Lots of herbal nuances and some bitterness in the coffee, black chocolate, clove and tobacco notes, but there’s good acidity and overall vibrancy. Really well controlled and delivered, retaining a sense of punchy classicism balancing richness, freshness, delicacy and plushness.

A linear and transparent red with violets and dark fruits with sliced tangerines. Full- to medium-bodied with firm and racy tannins. Brightness and energy. Hints of chocolate and malted milk. Lovely purity to it. Drink after 2026 and onwards.

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 L'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.

A clear candidate for wine of the vintage, this show-stopping gem kicks off with a vivid perfume packed with flowers, plums, truffles, chocolate, smoke, cigar wrapper, and cherry liqueur scents. The wine delivers intensity, finesse, concentration, richness, purity, and complexity. The finish, with its layers of dark-chocolate-covered ripe plums, velvety textures, and sensuality, is completely seamless, holding your palate hostage for at least 60 seconds. Give it some time and this could easily hit 100 pts down the road—it is that good. Drink from 2027–2060.

Kunz barrel sample 2021: (90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 14.4% alc. vol.) Concentrated, deep, elegant, fresh, complex, Burgundy-style bouquet: raspberries, candied cherries, dark chocolate, mint, a delicate hint of coconut. Finely concentrated, multi-layered, elegant palate with dense, precise fruit, plenty of fine tannins, a delicately creamy, finely muscular structure, varied, dense, powerful aromatics, and a very long, dense, powerful finish with plenty of lingering flavors.

(90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 14.4% alc/vol) Concentrated, deep, elegant, fresh, complex, Burgundian-style bouquet: raspberries, candied cherries, dark chocolate, mint, a delicate touch of coconut. Finely concentrated, multi-layered, elegant palate with dense, refined fruit, plenty of fine tannins, a delicately creamy, finely muscular structure, varied, dense, powerful aromatics, and a very long, dense, powerful finish with plenty of lingering flavors. 20/20 2028 - 2060

So much depth, character and density. Hugely rich in its dark damson, bilberry and chocolate character, sliced off pieces of dark slate, pumice stone and crushed rock. Hard not to smile at the pleasure contained in this bottle. It is both very much rooted in Pomerol and yet not at all Pomerol, both brooding and fabulous. Secure your bottle. 50% new oak, harvest September 9 to 16.

The 2020 L'Eglise-Client, made from 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, is deep garnet-purple in color. It opens with wonderfully fragrant notes of violets, dark chocolate, aniseed, and forest floor, leading to a core of preserved plums and black cherry preserves, plus a touch of cast-iron pan. The medium to full-bodied palate explodes with tons of juicy black fruit layers, supported by velvety tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long with a whole array of baking spice, black berry, and minerally accents.

96-97

A nose of red fruit of great purity, beautifully balanced, and disarmingly simple. On the palate, a true caress, enveloping and as light as a feather. A wine of great nobility, endowed with lovely minerality and an astonishing sweet-and-sour finish.

I approach this wine with an emotion I don’t wish to hide. With respect, friendship, and above all a big smile! From the outset, L’Eglise-Clinet displays not only ambition but an astonishing serenity. The wine is no longer trying to persuade; it follows its path with humility yet composure. In a sense of perfection, everything aligns. The richness and softness of the tannins, along with their power, the depth, the charm, the precision, and an endless length. Each component is in its place and excels in fulfilling its role. This wine is simply a marvel, a culmination, a loving wink! It is moving in its grandeur and sincerity. It is brilliant!

True to its soft-spoken, balanced style, L’Église Clinet unveils a truly beautiful 2020 vintage. For their first vintage “in tandem” since the passing of their father Denis last year, Constance and Noémie Durantou skillfully carry forward the legacy of elegance and classicism associated with this estate set on one of Pomerol’s finest terroirs. A lovely velvety texture emerges, with a palette of black fruit layered with licorice and mint. The palate releases a subtle fragrance and a superb mouthfeel, both creamy and shot through with precisely sculpted tannins. A wine rich in countless details, whose sum exceeds its individual parts: distinctive, refined, and built for long aging.