CLOS L'ÉGLISE
2015 Pomerol
The 2015 Clos l’Eglise needs encouragement on the nose. Initially surprisingly taciturn, it reveals well-defined blackberry, raspberry, leather and truffle scents. The palate is silky smooth with fine delineation, quite poised with dark chocolate and espresso complementing the lush red fruit. There is gentle grip towards the finish that gains length, though never achieves the heights of the following vintage. Still, this is going to give a lot of pleasure over the next 10-15 years. Tasted at the Clos l’Eglise vertical. Drinking range: 2024 - 2042 Rating: 94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jun 2022)
* 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 tight and focused red with blackberry, dark-chocolate and hazelnut aromas and flavors, which follow through to a full body. Integrated and round tannins and a flavorful finish. Needs three or four years to soften but very focused and precise. Structured. Drinking range: 2021 - Rating: 94 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Feb 2018)
The 2015 Clos L'Eglise is soft, fruity and open-knit, all qualities that are best enjoyed sooner rather than later. There is good depth and energy, but at the same time, the fruit is a bit dried out, while the oak is intrusive. It will be interesting to see if the 2015 finds a bit better balance over the next few years. This is a solid effort, but, frankly, I expected more excitement and personality here. Drinking range: 2018 - 2030 Rating: 89 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2018)
The 2015 Clos l'Eglise was picked on 8, 14 and 23 September apropos the Merlot and the Cabernet Franc on 23 September. Co-proprietor Hélène Garçin-Léveque told me that for the first time, Clos l'Eglise was one of the first Pomerols to be picked since they felt that the grapes were fully ripe. So why wait? That clearly is vindicated by the bouquet with ebullient, ripe blackberry and wild strawberry fruit, almost Burgundy-like in terms of its purity. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine, tensile tannin, brimming over with energy, tightly packed towards the more linear finish than usual. This is a Clos l'Eglise built for long-term bottle ageing, though I suspect it will actually come round a little earlier than usual. A wonderful Pomerol, almost understated, but full of personality. Drinking range: 2022 - 2050 Rating: 94-96 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2016)
Aromatic complexity on the nose with a Burgundian nuance. The palate is fresh, fragrant and caressing, then powerful tannins provide plenty of length and drive on the finish. Drinking range: 2023 - 2035 Rating: 92 James Lawther MW, decanter.com (Apr 2016)
The vineyard here is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, and the wine reflects that. This is fermented in stainless steel, and will see élevage in 100% new oak. This has some fresh and rather floral fruit on the nose, with smoky dark-red cherry and blackcurrant fruit, with a little gravelly, perfumed freshness. A very poised, elegant stance to the palate, very fresh and bright, with a delightfully pure delineation of fruit at its core, leaning more towards red plum and cherry for its fruit, spiced with liquorice and a touch of bitter cigar leaf, with a convincing seam of ripe tannins beneath. Fresh, quite chewy in terms of structure towards the end, with a broad, firm grip, a lifted tannic finish. Good potential here. Tasted twice. Rating: 15.5-16.5/20 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2016)
The Clos L'Eglise is the best of Hélène Garcin's 2015s. There is good depth and persistence here, although like all the other wines, the style is decidedly delicate and understated, especially for the year. Dark red stone fruits, licorice, leather and smoke add subtle nuances of complexity. The 2015 offer good freshness and purity, although it is a bit light. Clos L'Eglise is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, picked on September 8 and September 14/15 respectively. Rating: 88-91 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2016)
Offers a delicious core of plum, raspberry and cherry preserve notes, backed by flavors of apple wood and licorice that still need to integrate fully. A solid wine in the making. Rating: 92—95 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2016)
A soft and fruity red with walnut, plum and earth aromas and flavors. Full to medium body, clean finish. Refined and pretty Rating: 92-93 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Mar 2016)
Clos l'Église
In a region of modest architecture, the high-spired church in Pomerol tends to dominate the sky-line. Gathered around it, a trio of estates trumpet their proximity with their name – Domaine de l’Eglise, Château l’Eglise Clinet and Clos l’Eglise. In fact, l’Eglise Clinet and Clos l’Eglise, separated only by a narrow lane, used to form a single estate until they were divided in inheritance in the latter half of the 19th Century. Clos l’Eglise’s rise to prominence has been rapid, dating from the purchase of the estate in 1997 by Sylviane Garcin-Cathiard who already owned a couple of châteaux in Pessac-Léognan and whose brother is the owner of Château Smith Haut Lafitte. The €12mil. price tag turned heads at the time although, given the continued growth of interest in Pomerol, it now looks like Sylviane got herself a bargain. The 5.8ha of vineyard are planted with 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, and run by Sylvaine's daughter Hélene Garcin, who also runs the family's other properties, Haut Bergey, Branon, Poésia and Barde Haut. The consultant oenoligist since 2015 is Thomas Duclos. The wines are fermented in stainless steel, and aged 16 to 18 months in new barrels. There was a surprising amount of Cabernet Sauvignon at Clos l’Eglise when the family took over, all of which has been done away with. The Clos produces around 1200-1500 bottles per vintage.
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.