L'Eglise Clinet 2018

Tasted blind. High toned. Sweet and then rather challengingly tart on the end. Not a beautiful whole at this stage.Drink 2030 – 2044

90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc; 70% new oak. Barrel sample. Black core with purple rim. Pure cassis fruit on the nose and a touch of vanilla but quite introverted still though it opens up in the glass. There's more finesse here than in the Petite Église but there's so much sweet charry oak on the palate it is a bit overwhelming. Thick and chewy on the finish. Very rich but could be more elegant. Second sample from the same barrique taken the same day: still dense but with a little more freshness and the tannins are finer, the oak less intrusive. Not sure how it will age and have given perhaps optimistic drink dates. (JH) 14.5%Drink 2024-2033

One of the true “wow” wines in the vintage, the 2018 Château l'Eglise-Clinet is a blockbuster offering stunning notes of black currants, roasted herbs, truffle, earth, and graphite. It's a ripe, voluptuous, and incredibly opulent wine that has full-bodied richness, no hard edges, silky tannins, and gorgeous length. The blend is 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, all harvest in September, and raised in 70% new oak. It has remarkable purity, as well as balance, and will benefit from 5-6 years of bottle age and evolve for two decades or more.

Lush in feel, with boysenberry reduction and crushed plum flavors, carried by a polished, solid structure. A mineral hint filters through on the finish, adding length and cut.

(90 Merlot, 10 Cabernet Franc) | 70% new oak | 14.5% alc | The Merlot was picked between the 18th and 26th September and the Cabernet Franc was picked on the 28th September This is the first vintage in which every wine made in this portfolio comes from Denis Durantou’s own plantings! He calls it his year of the ‘Revolutionary’. Noëmie Durantou Reilhac, Denis’s daughter, and his cellar master Olivier Gautrat are very much involved these days and Denis notes that the old adage that you can only make great wines from vines that were planted by your ancestors is definitely not true today! The nose on L’Eglise Clinet is magnificent. The oak is typically commanding as is the fruit and the tannins are super-fine and also very fit and lively. These tannins are big but energetic and healthy and they will propel this wine forwards for 50 years. This is another tour de force from this famous estate.

The 2018 L’Eglise-Clinet was picked from 18 to 26 September for the Merlot, the Cabernet Franc picked on 28 September, matured in 70% new oak. It has a deep limpid purple colour. It has a captivating, gorgeous black cherry, raspberry and blueberry scented bouquet with touches of iodine and incense. The palate is medium-bodied with filigree tannin and pitch perfect acidity. There is a compelling symmetry and precision about this L’Eglise-Clinet with wonderful sapidity towards the finish that fans out with blackberry and boysenberry fruit. Simply a class act, and perhaps one of the most profound expressions of terroir that you will find on the Right Bank this year. Drink 2028-2050.

This is incredibly powerful with fantastic depth and length. It goes on for minutes. Full-bodied yet so tight and intense. Blackberries and hints of spice. It has such energy and persistence. It is a wine that makes you really reflect. Bravo. Tiny production.

Maintaining freshness in the wine was a priority for Denis Durantou at L’Eglise Clinet. “The pH developed quite quickly,” he said. “We had to test it every day; we had made a conscious decision to pick before it got too high. At a maximum of 3.7 pH, we pick. As soon as we have an evolution—a flavor change—we decide to pick.” Merlot was picked September 18-26 and Cabernet Franc on September 28. The resulting wine has a 3.63 pH and 14.5% alcohol and will be aged in 70% new barriques. A blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, the 2018 L'Eglise Clinet is deep purple-black in color and opens with beguiling truffles, forest floor, mossy bark and black tea scents, slowly unfurling to reveal a core of Black Forest cake, plum preserves, licorice and candied violets plus wafts of tar and cast iron pan. Full-bodied, concentrated and jam-packed with muscular fruit, the velvety-textured palate delivers layer upon layer of savory and earthy accents, finishing with a lingering mineral lift.