2020 Château Guillot Clauzel, Pomerol, Bordeaux

Château Guillot-Clauzel

Château Guillot-Clauzel is a family-owned wine producer in the Pomerol appellation of Bordeaux, France. The property has been in the hands of the Guillot family for many years; Bernard Guillot brought the Clauzel name into the estate by marrying Marie-Claude Clauzel in the 1970s. The couple's union combined the two family names, leading to the formation of Guillot-Clauzel.

A mix of clay and limestone soils characterises the terroir. This unique combination contributes to producing wines with remarkable complexity and structure. Merlot is the dominant grape variety grown on the property, reflecting the region's traditional style, where Merlot-based blends are prevalent.

Guillot-Clauzel is known for its commitment to traditional winemaking practices and a focus on producing wines that express the essence of their terroir. The estate follows sustainable and environmentally friendly viticultural practices, ensuring the health of the vineyards and the surrounding ecosystem.

The winemaking process involves careful selection of grapes, gentle handling, and ageing in a combination of French oak barrels to enhance the wine's character and complexity. The result is elegant, well-structured wines that can age gracefully over time.

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.