CLOS MANOU
2013 Médoc
Very good bright ruby-purple colour with black depth. Nose of crushed flowers and red fruit. Rich and voluminous, sophisticated spice and round ripe cassis. Fantastic for the appellation, but particularly in the context of this vintage. 2016-2024 Rating: 91 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.
I have enjoyed this cuvee in past vintages, and in 2013, only 35% of the crop made it into the final blend of 48% Merlot, 43% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest nearly equal parts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The wine exhibits an impressively saturated ruby/purple color, some dusty, loamy, red and black currant, underbrush, balsam wood and what the French call sous-bois notes. This medium-bodied 2013 tips the scales at a lofty 13.2% alcohol (high for this vintage), and is supple enough to be drunk upon release and over the following 5-6 years. Rating: 86-89 Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, www.RobertParker.com (Aug 2014)
Fine cassis nose, slightly smoky, good purity and depth of flavour. Drink: 2016-2022. Rating: 16 Steven Spurrier (Apr 2014)
A rich, velvety wine with impressive ripeness for the vintage. Chocolate, berry and spice finish. Rating: 88-89 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2014)
The 2013 Clos Manou is deep, powerful and fleshy in the glass. Black cherry, plum, smoke, licorice and menthol all meld together in an intense, textured Médoc. The style is super-intense and ripe, especially within the context of the year, but it all works, and quite nicely. The blend is 48% Merlot, 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot. Rating: 87-89 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2014)
Clos Manou
"We turned our garage into a makeshift wine cellar and made our first wine in 1998.” Françoise and Stéphane Dief. Which sounds impossibly idyllic! In a region of grand estates with long complicated histories the arrivistes of Clos Manou are a refreshing change. Starting with just .12ha of vines, the Diefs have patiently spent 15 years building their holding up to 18ha, along the way absorbing the obscure Cru Bourgeois of Château Cantegrive. The estate may be 'new' but amongst their holdings are Bordeaux’s oldest vines – they have a small pre-phylloxera parcel from the 1850’s. The estate is centred on the village of Saint-Christoly de Médoc in the increasingly popular area of the Haut-Médoc to the north of Saint Estèphe. All of Clos Manou’s vineyards are high-density plantings – some 10 000 vines per hectare – and all are converted to organic farming as soon as is practical. Grape variety proportions are 45% each Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with 6% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot. The first wine is aged in 100% new wood. The second wine is called Petit Manou.
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.