Farr Vintners Logo

L'Eglise Clinet 2010

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > Pomerol
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyMerlot/Cabernet Franc

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château L'Église-Clinet

Label

Tasting Notes

Deep garnet colored, the 2010 L'Eglise Clinet begins unassumingly with gentle notions of fragrant dried flowers and wild sage leading to savory nut and meat characters over an expanding core of preserved plums, blueberry compote and black cherry coulis plus a waft of menthol. Full-bodied, concentrated and wonderfully decadent, the palate is absolutely packed with rich, ripe black fruit preserves and loads of spicy sparks, framed by super ripe, super plush tannins, finishing very long and decadent. I love the interplay of subtly and power here - this is truly a WOW wine! 2020 - 2060.

100
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (March 2020), March 2020

Tasted at the property, the L'Eglise-Clinet 2010 was absolutely stunning from barrel and in bottle, Denis Durantou's tour de force does not disappoint. It is imbued with an effortless quality on the nose: briary, raspberry preserve, crushed stone and just a hint of cassis. It is a linear nose - not extravagant or powerful - but very expressive of its terroir. The palate is medium-bodied with unbelievable intensity (not concentration) on the entry, the flavours almost regimented in their precision: fresh strawberry, raspberry, a hint of graphite and a touch of orange peel. It is so fresh, so animated and energetic that you want to keep taking sip after sip. This is a monumental L'Eglise-Clinet - quite profound. Tasted November 2012.

99
Neal Martin, RobertParker.com, February 2013

This wine will likely be a major superstar with about 10-15 years of cellaring. It was one of the more closed and difficult wines to penetrate and one of probably only a dozen or so 2010s that I only had one chance to taste from bottle, but it is loaded with fabulous raw materials. The 2010 is a profound effort, but it needs to be forgotten for at least a decade. This opaque purple wine offers up notes of caramelized black currant and black cherry candies intermixed with some very high class, subtle vanillin and toast. Hints of licorice, mocha and perhaps even a touch of chocolate are also present in this full-bodied, super-duper, concentrated, classic wine, which has everything in perfect proportions. But in the finish, its whoppingly big tannins kick in and basically announce that drinking this wine now would be infanticide. Look for this wine to last for at least 50+ years.

Proprietor Denis Durantou has been on a hot streak, and is one of those perfectionist proprietors who seems tortured by their compulsion to do everything so well. Believe me, as a wine drinker, you want people like Durantou making the wines!

96+
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (205), March 2013

Sweet berries with hints of incense and spices on the nose with black truffles. Very ripe but not over-the-top. This is full-bodied, with chewy tannins and a smoky wood and mushroom undertone. It's dense and impressive yet very balanced. I like it, slightly better quality than the 2009. Give the wine five or six years of bottle age to soften before opening.

98
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2013

In 2009 it was easier to present primeur samples.' Very dark and glowing crimson. Savoury and dense and lively. Lip smacking. Lots of sweetness and nerve. Well done! A very firm thread and great integrity. Lovely texture. Much more sweetness than I would expect for a 2010. Racy and charming but with real density. 'The most complicated thing was to decide how many pumpovers to do each day. We reduced the number and the length of the macerations. Alcoholic fermentation was at less than 28°C. Because we were so afraid to extract tannins we couldn't age in barrels.'

18
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2011
96
Tim Atkin MW, timatkin.com, April 2011

Undoubted power and concentration. Rich, dense and profound but reserved. Layered fruit on the palate. Bigger structure than '09 although a touch awkward at this youthful stage. Drink 2020-2040.

18.5
James Lawther MW, Decanter.com, April 2011
Read more tasting notes...

Proprietor Denis Durantou has again produced one of Bordeaux's most profound wines, which seems to be happening routinely at this tiny estate on the Pomerol plateau. Opaque purple to the rim, with a wonderfully sweet nose of mulberry and black fruit, hints of mocha and caramel, and some subtle background oak, the 2010 is very expansive, multi-dimensional, with stunning purity, richness and equilibrium. The finish is very long, with significant tannins, but they are beautifully integrated. This is a massive L'Eglise Clinet that will need 8-10 years of cellaring at the very minimum, and should keep for 40+ years.

96/100
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (194), May 2011

Tasted from various barrels, this note is from the final blend in Darnajou barrel. It will consist of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, picked between 20th and 27th September and 1st October respectively. The bouquet is very intense with ebullient ripe red berried, truffle and briary, an underlying mineralité that is sure to become more evident as its ages in bottle. The palate is full-bodied with very fine tannins, intense dark berried fruit, a touch of blackberry and crushed stone. There is exceptional delineation on the finish that is poised and coiled like a spring. Wonderful. N.B. Tasted from the Taransaud bottle I found more richness on the nose, a touch more opulence and perhaps more "juicier". Whatever…it's gonna be awesome. Tasted April 2011.

96/98
Neal Martin, RobertParker.com, April 2011

So much elegance and complexity to this young wine with plenty of flowers and dark fruit notes. Full and super refined, with amazing complexity and firmness. It is very tight and silky. Long and intense. This is a super 2001 or a 1961.

97/98
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, March 2011
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.