L'Eglise Clinet 1996

One of the few profound Pomerols in 1996, L'Eglise-Clinet turned out an uncommonly rich, concentrated wine that is performing well from bottle, even though it is displaying a tightly knit structure. The dark ruby/purple color is followed by notes of charcoal, jammy cassis, raspberries, and a touch of sur-maturit. Spicy oak emerges as the wine sits in the glass. It is fat, concentrated, and medium to full-bodied, with a layered, multidimensional, highly nuanced personality. This muscular Pomerol will be at its apogee until 2020. Last tasted, 3/01.

The 1996 l’Eglise-Clinet has always had an open and Burgundy-like bouquet, pure but like many Pomerol crus in this vintage, not particularly complex. The palate is well balanced with slightly grainy tannin. This is a more masculine and introverted wine compared to the 1995, a little too serious perhaps and needing more flesh toward the linear finish. Not bad at all although it just lacks the fireworks. Tasted over a private dinner in Bordeaux.

One of the few profound Pomerols in 1996, l'Eglise-Clinet turned out an uncommonly rich, concentrated wine that is performing well from bottle, even though it is displaying a more tightly-knit structure than it did from cask. The dark ruby/purple color is followed by notes of charcoal, jammy cassis, raspberries, and a touch of sur-maturite. Spicy oak emerges as the wine sits in the glass. It is fat, concentrated, and medium to full-bodied, with a layered, multidimensional, highly nuanced personality. This muscular Pomerol will require 3-5 years of bottle age. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2020.

One of the superstars of the right bank. Readers can thank proprietor Denis Durantou for the extraordinarily strict selection that produced such an intense Pomerol. The opaque black/purple color is followed by a wine with copious quantities of sweet blackberry and raspberry liqueur-like fruit that soars from the glass. Full-bodied, with extraordinary fruit extraction, this is a large-scaled, broad-shouldered Pomerol with enough tannin to ensure 25-30 years of longevity. At present, the fruit dominates the wine, but there is considerable intensity to this 1996, which reveals layers black fruits, in addition to a subtle dosage of smoky oak and black truffles.