2020 Château Clinet, Pomerol, Bordeaux
Critics reviews
Drink from 2027 to 2055
Neal Martin, Vinous (May 2021)
Drink from 2030 to 2060
Antonio Galloni, Vinous (June 2021)
Drink from 2029 to 2044
Jane Anson, Decanter (April 2021)
Drink 2027 - 2057
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (May 2021)
Drink 2030 - 2044
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com (April 2021)
James Suckling, jamessuckling.com (April 2021)
Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com (May 2021)
Drink 2028 - 2050
Michael Schuster, The World of Fine Wine (May 2021)
About this WINE
Château Clinet
Château Clinet is a wine estate in Pomerol on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. It is owned and run by Ronan Laborde and his partner, Monique Bailly. Ronan took the helm here in 2004.
The estate’s 11 hectares of vines sit atop the famed Pomerol plateau. The vineyard is planted to a majority of Merlot (75%), which Ronan feels is highly suited to the plateau’s iron-rich clay soils. There is also 25% Cabernet Sauvignon. Though rare in Pomerol, Cabernet Sauvignon has long been an important aspect of Clinet’s character; it once made up 50% of the vineyard here, Ronan reports.
Clinet came to the attention of many collectors when its 1989 vintage received a 100-point score from the critic Robert Parker; it has remained one of Bordeaux’s most sought-after names ever since. Another perfect Parker score followed for the 2009 vintage.
Pomerol
Pomerol is the smallest of Bordeaux's major appellations, with about 150 producers and approximately 740 hectares of vineyards. It is home to many bijou domaines, many of which produce little more than 1,000 cases per annum.
Both the topography and architecture of the region is unremarkable, but the style of the wines is most individual. The finest vineyards are planted on a seam of rich clay which extends across the gently-elevated plateau of Pomerol, which runs from the north-eastern boundary of St Emilion. On the sides of the plateau, the soil becomes sandier and the wines lighter.
There is one satellite region to the immediate north, Lalande-de-Pomerol whose wines are stylistically very similar, if sometimes lacking the finesse of its neighbour. There has never been a classification of Pomerol wines.
Recommended Châteaux : Ch. Pétrus, Vieux Ch. Certan, Le Pin, Ch. L’Eglise-Clinet, Ch. La Conseillante, Ch. L’Evangile, Ch. Lafleur, Trotanoy, Ch. Nenin, Ch. Beauregard, Ch. Feytit-Clinet, Le Gay.
Cabernet Sauvignon Blend
Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.
In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.
In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and Australia.
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Description
Merlot 80%, Cabernet Sauvignon 20%
Although this wine weighs in at an impressive 15.5% alcohol, there is a leafy aspect to the bouquet, hinting at something more complex. Ronan Laborde explains that the berries were small at harvest and, along with the Cabernet Sauvignon (which thrives on Clinet’s gravels), there is a bright, tannic freshness here. The plush palate is clean as a whistle, with mocha and the capsicum note of the bouquet. This has all the personality you could want from this style of Pomerol.
Drink 2026-2040
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