CHÂTEAU CLINET

The 2018 Clinet, which was cropped at 38hl/ha, has an exquisite bouquet of lavish black cherry and raspberry fruit, and still those bunches of violets I observed from barrel, flanked by potpourri. The aromatics are well defined and the new oak seamlessly integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit. It has firmed up since I tasted in barrel, when I noted that it felt like a "muscular" Clinet in the making. That trait is emphasized in bottle, and those accustomed to the more hedonistic Clinets of yore might find it a tad more reserved and drier. But it is a style that suits it well. White pepper leaves the mouth tingling after it has departed, the fitting conclusion to a superb – dare I say cerebral? – Clinet that has a long and prosperous future. Drinking range: 2023 - 2045 Rating: 95 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Mar 2021)

Blackberries and blueberries with subtle black chocolate and violets on the nose, following to a full-bodied palate with polished, creamy tannins. Beautiful balance and really refined texture. Drink after 2024, but already so gorgeous. Rating: 96 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Feb 2021)

85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon; 75% new oak. Barrel sample. Black core, purple rim. Intense cassis, a touch minty, but also a slightly intrusive aroma that I think must come from the oak. For now at least, the tannins and the oak are pretty overwhelming thought I can detect lovely fruit underneath. Really chewy. (JH) Drinking range: 2025 - 2030 Rating: 16 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2019)

The 2018 Château Clinet is 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon (which is more Cabernet than usual) that was brought up in slightly more new oak than normal, aging in 75% new and 25% once used French oak. Sporting a saturated purple color, it has a massive perfume of black and blue fruits, crushed violets, spice, and orange blossom. Full-bodied, deep, expansive, and layered on the palate, it's an incredibly hedonistic and sexy wine that shows the best of this great vintage. It’s going to be hard to resist on release and knock your socks off over the following two decades or more. Rating: 96-99 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (Apr 2019)

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 Clinet begins a little coy and then, with coaxing, opens out to vibrant black cherries, kirsch, baked plums and cinnamon stick scents with hints of cloves and anise plus earthy truffles and fungi wafts. Full-bodied and chock-full of bright, energetic fruit, it has a firm, finely grained structure and long, fragrant finish. The blend is 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. Aging is anticipated to last for 16 months in French oak barriques, 75% new. Rating: 94-96 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Apr 2019)

This is a young red that really grows on the palate with so much dark fruit and firm yet luscious tannins. Full-bodied, it grows and grows on the palate. Extremely long and vivid. Solid as a rock. 15 per cent cabernet sauvignon, the rest merlot. Rating: 95-96 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2019)

Here we have a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, with a yield of 38 hl/ha in this vintage. The alcohol is 14.5%. This barrel sample presents a dark and perfumed nose, with some leafy blackcurrant fruits. The palate is fresh, relaxed, open and broad, with a confident style, firmly medium-bodied, cut through by a seam of polished, ripe, tightly grained but very precise tannins. It has a firm, bold, broad and convincing character, with perfumed wild cherries and spiced plums warmly wrapped in a blanket of vanillin oak at the moment. Lots of substance here, with a delicious tannin backbone at its heart, and a fresh grip in the finish. Fine potential. The élevage will be in 75% new oak and 25% second-fill oak. Rating: 94-96 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2019)

A perfumed wine with fine tannins, this is packed with a blackberry flavor and finishes with intense acidity. All the elements are in place for a wine that will reveal great elegance as it develops. Rating: 95 Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast www.winemag.com (Apr 2019)

One of the star Pomerol names showing us how it’s done in 2018. This wine absolutely stands out, being beautifully vibrant and very polished, where you feel the individual strands of flavour and know it’s clearly going to age. Here you get licks of salted rosemary sprigs right on the nose followed by a silkiness and round mouthfeel that speaks to the alcohol but you certainly don't feel it. It’s well judged, very Pomerol, and on the dark side of the fruit scale, perhaps because this is Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, not Cabernet Franc. I found Clinet a little difficult to approach in 2017, giving it a highly recommended but at the low end of the scale, but here it is roaring back to form. Drinking range: 2027 - 2044 Rating: 97 Jane Anson, Decanter (Mar 2019)