LA PETITE ÉGLISE
2017 Pomerol
100% Merlot at 41hl/ha with 50% new oak. Dark berry and plum fruit nose. Astonishingly smooth and silky on the palate. Almost creamy dark fruit with soft, easy power. Just a hint of something savoury on the finish. This is very Pomerol. Delicious and ready fairly soon. Drinking range: 2022 - 2030 Rating: 90 L&S (Apr 2018)
* 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.
The 2017 La Petite Eglise is poweful and rich in the glass. Dark purplish berry fruit, charcoal, licorice, clove and lavender are some of the many nuances that infuse the 2017 with its distinctly somber personality. Unctuous and racy in feel, with superb density, the 2017 is a decidedly extroverted Pomerol. Tasting it from bottle, I have the same impression I did en primeur: it is easily better than many top bottlings. Drinking range: 2022 - 2032 Rating: 93 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Mar 2020)
The 2017 La Petite Eglise was picked from 12 to 22 September and matured in 50% new oak. It has a floral bouquet with touches of incense and lavender infusing the black fruit, nicely defined and surprisingly open for the vintage. The palate is very smooth on the entry with blood orange and a tang of marmalade infusing the black fruit. It threatens to become exotic, but then it becomes more linear towards the finish with touches of graphite on the aftertaste. Drinking range: 2023 - 2030 Rating: 90 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2020)
The 2017 La Petite Eglise was picked from 12 to 22 September at 41hl/ha and is matured in 50% new oak. Just one small parcel near the Barbanne tributary was touched by frost but nothing on the plateau. It has a straightforward bouquet with more red fruit than black, hints of freshly tilled soil and pencil shavings. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, a touch more compact than previous vintages but beautifully focused and silky smooth towards the sustained finish. Excellent. Drinking range: 2021 - 2034 Rating: 90-92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2018)
100% Merlot, the deep garnet-purple colored 2017 La Petite Eglise comes charging out of the glass with exuberant notes of crushed wild blueberries, vibrant cassis and violets with touches of fertile loam, garrigue and bay leaves. Medium-bodied with a wonderful energy of perfumed black fruits, it has a racy line and firm, fine-grained tannins, finishing long and fragrant. Rating: 90-92 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Apr 2018)
100% Merlot Dark purplish crimson with black core. Elderberry fruit. Fragrant. A little wild in aroma, wild fruits. Incredibly silky, juicy and supple. Lovely and already nearly approachable. Mouth-wateirng and moreish. Drinking range: 2022 - 2030 Rating: 16.5 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2018)
An elegant second wine of L’Eglise Clinet with dark berries, spices and stones. Medium body and silky and polished tannins. Rating: 90-91 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2018)
The second wine of Château L’Église-Clinet, this is 100% Merlot, picked between September 12th and the 22nd. The yield was 41 hl/ha. The nose is a melange of taut, black cherry-stone fruit, all wrapped up in tobacco-tinged oak. The palate begins in an elegant and precise style, yet it is nicely filled out and feels correct, with a very tense and bright poise, rich but compact and sinewy. And there are some deeply buried, dark and brooding tannins here that should carry it forward nicely. An impressive second wine. The élevage will be in 50% new oak. Rating: 92-94 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2018)
Château L'Église Clinet
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, Clos l’Eglise and Château l’Eglise Clinet. Infact, Clos l’Eglise Clinet and l’Eglise Clinet, 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. Initially, confusingly, called Clos de l’Eglise, the estate appended the lieu dit name and became Clos de l’Eglise Clinet, before finally settling on l’Eglise Clinet. The château, such as it is, is quite modest – the château proper being left with the Clos l’Eglise portion when the estate divided. The Château l’Eglise Clinet story really begins when Denis Durantou took over in 1983 and turned a traditional if unexciting property into one of Pomerol’s superstars. New equipment in a small new chai were installed and meticulous attention has been paid to the vineyard. There are 6ha of vines given over to 85% Merlot and 14% Cabernet Franc with the last 1% being a plot of very old Malbec vines. Denis Durantou also owns Château les Cruzelles in Lalande-de-Pomerol, Saintayme in Saint Emilion and Chateau Montlandrie in the Côtes de Castillon.