LA PETITE ÉGLISE
2019 Pomerol
The 2019 La Petite Eglise has a perfumed and pure bouquet, one of the most floral in this flight, touches of iris flower and peony dovetailing into the lifted black fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, cohesive and fleshy, the intensity counterbalanced by the acidity with a nicely proportioned finish. Bon vin. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. Drinking range: 2025 - 2042 Rating: 92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
* 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 2019 La Petite Eglise has blossomed into a rich, heady wine. Readers will have to be patient here too, as the Petite Eglise is far from an easygoing second wine. Blackberry, plum, leather, graphite, tobacco and licorice all build in a Pomerol endowed with tremendous class and nuance. There's real breadth and substance here. Floral notes from the Franc add a gorgeous touch as the wine starts to open. Hints of blood orange and spice linger on the exotic finish. This is the third vintage in which La Petite Eglise includes Franc, previously it was all Merlot. Drinking range: 2025 - 2039 Rating: 93 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2022)
The 2019 La Petite Eglise is razor-sharp on the nose of almost pixelated black cherry and raspberry fruit, quite mineral-driven, focused and vibrant. The palate is medium-bodied, powerful and a little more dense than the Montlandrie, with ripe tannins and a grippy finish. This will require three or four years in bottle, but it may well merit a higher score down the line. Drinking range: 2023 - 2040 Rating: 92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2022)
Waves of blueberry and raspberry fruits, and this is clearly an exceptional Pomerol, with tension and nuance. Harvest September 18 to 26 40% new oak. Bottled in May. Drinking range: 2024 - 2038 Rating: 92 Jane Anson, Decanter (Jan 2022)
The 2019 La Petite Eglise is a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, the nose starts off slightly reduced, but with a little swirling, it comes sailing out of the glass with bright, pristine notes of kirsch, black raspberries and blackberry preserves, followed by suggestions of garrigue, tilled soil, wild mushrooms and bouquet garni with a waft of cloves. The medium-bodied palate has vibrant, impactful black and red fruit layers with a very fine-grained texture and tons of freshness, finishing long and earthy. This year, this sincerely is a “Petite” L’Eglise Clinet! Rating: 92-94 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Jun 2020)
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.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at 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 £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2022 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2025. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
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). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2025. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.