CHÂTEAU CLINET

The 2020 Clinet has held on to that precious bouquet with heady scents of black plum, cassis and fresh fig, more blue fruit percolating through with time. Remarkably, it retains fine delineation and disguises that payload of 15% alcohol. The palate is intense on the entry, quite structured, and granular in texture, with a healthy dose of cracked black pepper and a grippy but pure finish. The 20% Cabernet Sauvignon is crucial in keeping this Clinet on an even keel, with traces of graphite towards the fresh finish. It will benefit from several years in bottle but stands as a very fine Pomerol, but unequivocally no shy wallflower. Drinking range: 2027 - 2055 Rating: 94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)

What a beautiful young wine, showing so much finesse and tension, with ultra-fine tannins and subtle and long flavors and character. It’s medium-bodied with extremely silky tannins that grow on the palate to a seamless finish. Harmonious. Another fine Pomerol for the cellar. Drink after 2027. Rating: 98 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Dec 2022)

This is a hedonistic Clinet with superb intensity and depth of glossy fruit, nicely spicy oak and also an amazingly refreshing and clean finish. Minty highlights prick the palate and this lifts the velvety tones nicely making this a delicious wine and somewhat of a guilty pleasure. The tannins are fairly firm, so this wine will have a decent life ahead of it, too. Rating: 17.5+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jun 2021)

The 2020 Clinet is a gorgeous, vivid Pomerol. Today, the Clinet feels a bit closed in on itself, but has terrific energy and plenty of drive. Dark cherry jam, mocha, rose petal, new leather and tobacco start to open with a bit of time in the glass. Readers will have to be patient here. There is plenty to look forward to. Drinking range: 2030 - 2060 Rating: 93-95 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jun 2021)

The 2020 Clinet was picked September 14–17 for the Merlot and September 24 for the Cabernet Sauvignon, at 38hl/ha, and matured in 80% new oak. Its 15.0° alcohol is the highest ever. The bravura nose delivers copious black cherries, blueberry and violet aromas that explode from the glass. This is a Pomerol that really wants to make an impression. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent ripe tannins, hints of chocolate chip infusing the mixture of black and blueberry fruit. Lavish and satiny in texture toward the long finish. This is a bold and extravagant Clinet that I hope will just find a little refinement and more terroir expression during its élevage. If it does, it should land at the top of my banded score. Drinking range: 2027 - 2055 Rating: 94-96 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2021)

I continue to love the wines from this estate, and the 2020 Château Clinet is no exception. Straight-up sensational notes of blueberries, cassis, violets, tobacco, and earth all emerge from the glass, and this beauty is full-bodied, with a rich, concentrated mid-palate, flawless balance, and a great finish. It shows the tighter, fresher, more focused style of the vintage, yet it still brings plenty of mid-palate depth as well as an expansive texture. It has enough oak to warrant short-term bottle age but will have 25-30 years of overall longevity. This is a gorgeous wine. Rating: 96-98 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (May 2021)

The 2020 Clinet (a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon) has an opaque purple-black color, needing a little coaxing to unleash bold, powerful notes of plum preserves, blueberry compote and black raspberries, followed by suggestions of cracked black pepper, menthol, cedar chest and rose oil with a hint of licorice. The big, rich, full-bodied palate is a powerhouse, bursting with impactful black and blue fruit preserves flavors, supported by ripe, rounded tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long and fantastically perfumed. Drinking range: 2027 - 2057 Rating: 96-98 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (May 2021)

Deep cherry damson red in colour, clear depth. Touches of kicking spice right from the start, I like the surprise of the battle between richness and bitterness. It feels like a heavy blanket of fruit which is burrowing down but then kicks off to let the air in alongside velvet stroking tannins, very Pomerol with coffee and chocolate. Feels confident and powerful, good stuff, if broad shouldered. A yield of 38 hl/ha. Will see at least 16 months in barrel. Tasted twice, also at Pomeol Seduction; and this is a big, seductive wine. Drinking range: 2029 - 2044 Rating: 95 Jane Anson, Decanter (May 2021)

80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. Very dark right to the purplish rim. Rich and sumptuous aroma of pure, sweet, black fruit, entwined with oak's sweet spice. Powerful and a little charry on the palate, the tannins thick and compact but already smooth. A big, alcoholic beast of a wine but ends with unexpected freshness, and, even with this high alcohol, just about in balance. Long, chewy finish. Wholesome, powerful. Drinking range: 2030 - 2040 Rating: 17 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2021)