CLOS DU CLOCHER

Very perfumed and pretty with dark berries, vanilla and hints of chocolate on the nose. Medium to full body, bright fruit and ripe, polished tannins. Rating: 94-95 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2019)

The harvest here was from September 27th until October 5th, the yield 32 hl/ha. It opens with a rich and gently perfumed nose, quite sweet and polished, with a fragrant, open and gravelly style, rich in mulberry and desiccated black cherry fruits. There follows a very classic Pomerol profile on the palate, showing rather concentrated fruit, with a gravelly edge, wrapped up in a medium-bodied substance. It has a fresh grip, nicely polished, with a firm core of tannins at the wine's heart, and a wrapping of dark, richly expressed currant and olive fruit. It finishes with a wealth of very bright and grippy tannins which persist in the length. A cool and taut style, nicely built, but with no shortage of energy, and a fine, confident structure. Rating: 94-96 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2019)

This is good, precise, inky and concentrated in colour with the texture the first thing you feel here, it actually takes a good few minutes before the fruit comes to the fore. The tannins are powerful, a little more brooding than some Pomerols this year but then the layers appear. The Cabernet Franc is hidden at first and you get the texture of the Merlot, then the florality of the Cabernet arrives, as does liquorice, silky plum and blackberry fruit. Give it time because this is a great Clos de Clocher, perhaps a little departure in terms of style but in the right direction – it’s starting to clearly put a stake in the ground alongside the really serious Pomerols - a property that is getting better and better. 3.8pH. Drinking range: 2026 - 2044 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, Decanter (Mar 2019)