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L'Eglise Clinet 1996

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > Pomerol
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyMerlot/Cabernet Franc

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Label

Tasting Notes

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.

93
Robert Parker, Bordeaux Book (4), December 2003

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.

90
Neal Martin, vinous.com, July 2019

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.

93
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (122), April 1999
93/95
Robert Parker, Bordeaux Book (3), November 1998

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.

93/95
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (115), February 1998
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.