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L'Eglise Clinet 2013

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

The 2013 L'Eglise Clinet has a very precise, tightly wound bouquet with limestone-tinged, brambly red berry fruit, the Merlot still very expressive and imparting comely floral scents. There is something almost Burgundy-like about the nose. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin surrounding a core of citrus-fresh, lively red fruit, silky smooth in texture, approachable in style, with an almost symmetrical finish. This was a great L'Eglise-Clinet in barrel in the context of the vintage and it remains a very persuasive wine in bottle. Bravo Denis Durantou - a winemaker that can overcome even the most deplorable of growing seasons!

94
Neal Martin, RobertParker.com (227), October 2016

A 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc blend from the Plateau of Pomerol near the church, the wine has an inky/purple color, a sweet kiss of mulberry and black cherry liqueurs, interwoven with licorice, truffle, a hint of melted road tar and background spice and oak. The wine is opulent, medium to full-bodied and unquestionably a tour de force for this vintage. Kudos to Durantou. If you can find it, this is clearly one of the candidates for the wine of the vintage and a real star. Drink from 2018-2027.

It-s no surprise that perfectionist/meticulous proprietor Denis Durantou has turned out one of the best wines of the vintage. Harvested September 27-October 6, only 10,000 bottles were produced in this tiny yielding vintage that also required a draconian-like selection process to keep the best fruit under the top label.

92/94
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (214), August 2014

This is a vivid wine with terrific clarity and vibrance aromas and flavors. Full body, ultra fine tannins and a long, long finish. Class. Really superb for the vintage. Needs two or three years of bottle age to soften.

95
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2016
96
Tim Atkin MW, timatkin.com, April 2014

90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc. 70% new oak. Chocolate and black fruit, lovely richness and concentration. Very high tannins here, but they have a buffed edge that suggests they will soften well. Fine, lengthy and concentrated. Pretty hearty, yet quite effortless to taste. Impressive! (RH)
Drink 2020-2030

17.5
Richard Hemming MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2014
Read more tasting notes...

The Grand Vin is a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc picked between 27 September and 2 October. It delivers 13.5% alcohol, a degree less than last year. The Merlot comes through very strongly on the nose with pure scents of cranberry and wild strawberry, dried violet petals and a touch of sous-bois It is very well defined although not as complex as a top-flight l'Eglise-Clinet. The palate is medium-bodied with a silky entry that does not hesitate in caressing the palate, the oak succinct and deftly interwoven. There is not a huge depth here, but rather great tension and precision, a hint of citrus peel. This is already utterly seductive. One day, Denis might make a L'Eglise-Clinet that does not incite superlatives. I might be waiting a long time. If you do insist on buying one 2013 en primeur, then make it this one. Tasted April 2014.

94/96
Neal Martin, RobertParker.com, April 2014

One of the most naturally structured wines from the vintage. It's the most properly structured wine of the vintage. It's full body with mineral character and an intensity. The old vine cabernet franc gave the backbone. This will need aging.

93/94
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, April 2014
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.