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Clinet 2014

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

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château Clinet

Label

Tasting Notes

A tight and subtle wine with very pretty ripe-fruit character and chocolate. Medium to full body. Needs time to open. Better in 2020.

94
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2017

Tasted blind. Very dark crimson. A suggestion of VA on the nose. But good (if slightly awkward) freshness on the palate. Lots of greenness. Then a bit salty. Second bottle not better.
Drink 2023-2032

16+
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, February 2018

For whatever reason, Chateau Clinet was not interested in having their 2015 tasted for this report and I was unable to taste it during my trip through the region. I’ll do my best to review it from bottle once it’s available in the United States. Nevertheless, I purchased a bottle of the 2014 Château Clinet locally and it showed beautifully, revealing a deep purple color, loads of plum, crème de cassis, spice-box, dried flowers, and graphite aromas and flavors, full-bodied richness, and a terrific minerality the developed with time in the glass. This is an elegant, balanced, beautifully pure 2014 that’s very much in the style of the vintage. It will keep for 20+ years. 2018 - 2038

93
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, November 2017

Dark in profile, featuring a steeped core of fig and blackberry fruit that melds with roasted apple wood and ganache notes through the finish. Shows plenty of muscle, but the refined structure leads to a very long finish, boding well for the cellar. Best from 2020 through 2035. 4,750 cases made.

92
James Molesworth, WineSpectator.com, February 2017

High in Cabernet Sauvignon by the standards of Pomerol, Clinet makes wines that have structure as well as freshness. This is a very modern style, with prominent but well handled oak, silky tannins, bright acidity and notes of red berries and blackberry. The palate length is impressive here.

93
Tim Atkin MW, timatkin.com, April 2015
Read more tasting notes...

The 2014 Clinet was a wine that perplexed when I tasted it from barrel and as a consequence, it was one that I went back and retasted three or four times during that primeur campaign. Now in bottle, the bouquet has improved and developed more fruit concentration, armed with red plum, wild strawberry and blueberry scents. The palate is medium-bodied and quite refined, certainly not as opulent as other vintages from the estate, perhaps just missing a persistence on the angular finish. It is not a bad Clinet by a long stretch, it just feels a little constricted, especially compared to say the 2010 or 2015. I tasted this on three occasions, drawing the same conclusion each time. Drink date 2019 - 2032

91
Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (Interim En), April 2017

The Château Clinet 2014 is a blend of 90% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Cabernet Franc picked from 23 to 30 September, 3 October for the old Merlot vines and 8 October with respect Cabernets. It was cropped at 40 hectoliters per hectare and matured in 60% new barrels and 40% second fill. It has a well-defined bouquet, quite stony compared to more fruit-driven Pomerol 14's, scents of gravel percolating through the light blackberry and boysenberry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with quite firm, slightly abrasive tannin at the moment that will hopefully be abraded during its barrel age. It feels a little attenuated on the finish and you feel taken aback by the lack of its usual concentration and flamboyance on the finish. Interestingly a second sample (at the UGC) showed more cohesion and weight on the finish vis to the sample at the château. Ronan Laborde has produced some truly wonderful wines at Clinet in recent years, but I need convincing that the 2014 will join their ranks. I will hopefully re-taste this later during its barrel maturation and report back. 88-91?

89/91
Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (218), April 2015

This is layered and intense with mineral, chalk, berry and olive character. Full, very fine and refined. Tight. Let's see.

91/92
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, March 2015

Overripe notes on the nose. A little dull on the palate. Very stolid and without any real pace and direction.
Drink 2022-2032

15.5+
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2015
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.