CLOS DE L'ORATOIRE
2013 Grand Cru Classé Saint Emilion
From the one tasting this seems to be a rare miss for Clos de l'O. In 'prise de bois', so may recover, but tastes gripped, of charcoal and caramel, a touch of sweetness overwhelmed by bitter dryness. Rating: 85 L&S (Apr 2014)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
A terrific success and star in this vintage, this blend of 90% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Cabernet Franc came from a mere 25 acres of vineyard and averaged 33 hectoliters per hectare, with close to 13% natural alcohol. The entire harvest took place September 30-October 12. The wine is impressive in this vintage, its beautiful, dense, blue/black color is followed by a striking nose of creme de cassis, blackberry fruit, charcoal and a hint of camphor. The wine is rich and medium to full-bodied, displaying surprising texture, depth and breadth. This is a rich wine with good acidity and ripe tannin. It is a relatively big boy for the vintage and should drink well in 2-3 years and last up to 15 or more. It is so good, it is clearly a sleeper of the vintage, even though Clinet has been doing fabulous work for a number of years. 2014-2019 Rating: 84-86 Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, www.RobertParker.com (Aug 2014)
Rating: 85-87 Ian d'Agata - Stephen Tanzer website (May 2014)
Fresh red fruited the nose is quite light but the palate feels richer with a greater depth of flavour. There is a balancing freshness at the back with lots of re fruits on the finish. 2016-2026. Rating: 88-90 Derek Smedley MW, www.dereksmedleymw.co.uk (May 2014)
Rating: 89 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (May 2014)
(95 Merlot, 5 Cabernet Franc) 55% new oak. Structured and noble with a long finish and decent balance. There is a nice dusting of spice and even some peppery notes, too, which while unexpected are not unattractive. Dry on the finish but not harsh. Rating: 16+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Apr 2014)
Really constrained nose, but better liveliness on the palate, with juicy red fruit and decent tannin. Ripe but understated and short. Most likely the best possible result given the conditions. (RH) Drink 2016-2019. Rating: 15.5 Richard Hemming MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2014)
Sweet, round and supple. Little toasted oak apparent. Less power but firm, fine structure. Drink: 2017-2025. Rating: 16 James Lawther MW, decanter.com (Apr 2014)
Lively, with pomegranate and cherry notes backed by a perky blood orange hint, giving way to high-toned spice accents on the juicy finish. Fresh and engaging Rating: 88–91 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2014)
The Clos l'Oratoire 2013 is a blend of 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc picked from 6 to 10 October. It has a pure and Burgundy-like bouquet that is floral and perfumed. The palate is medium-bodied with light tannins, forming an easy drinking and slightly pointed Saint Emilion with a fine citric edge, if not the length of previous vintages Rating: 87-89 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2014)
Clos de l'Oratoire
Located on Saint-Émilion's north-east slope, the Clos de l'Oratoire estate dates back to the mid-19th century to the Beylot family, Libourne based négociants. In the 1969 Saint-Émilion reclassification, Clos de l'Oratoire was ranked Grand Cru Classé. The 10.32 hectares of vines grow on clay-limestone and Fronsac molasse on the upper part of the slope, and clay-sand on the lower part of the slope, a terroir which is enitrely suited to the Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc grape blend. The average age of vines at Clos de l'Oratoire is 35 years, and grapes are all hand harvested into small crates to avoid bruising. Since 1991, the estate has been under the charge of Comte Stephan von Neipperg, who inherited part of the vineyard from his father Joseph-Hubert, Graf von Neipperg.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.