Farr Vintners Logo

L'Eglise Clinet 2009

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

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château L'Église-Clinet

Label

Tasting Notes

Proprietor Denis Durantou has produced a blockbuster Pomerol from a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, tipping the scales at just over 14.5% natural alcohol. A riveting wine, pure, elegant, but at the same time, extremely powerful and concentrated, with stunning texture, opulence and density, the tannins are abundant, and the wine certainly in need of a decade of cellaring. Fabulous creme de cassis and cherry liqueur notes are intertwined with hints of licorice, truffle, and graphite. Full and rich, but still in an infantile state of development, this wine needs to be cellared for 10 years but should keep for five decades or more. This 2009 is absolutely profound.

99+
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, March 2012

Wonderful aromas of crushed blackberries and blueberries and spices. Rose petals. Full body, with soft and velvety tannins and a juicy, fruity finish. Beautiful layers of tannins, with hints of acidity. Best after 2017.

97
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2012

Scented nose. Very rich and thick and polished. Fresh and expressive - lots of nervy fruit. Very lively and exciting and nervy - not unlike its maker. Still very tight though. Date tasted 29th March 2010. Drink 2018-2030.

17.5+
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2010

Rich and dense but equally fresh and poised. Absolutely packed with fruit. Massive tannic frame but tannins smooth, voluptuous and suave. Aromatically reserved but clearly huge potential. Drink 2018-2045.

19
James Lawther MW, Decanter.com, April 2010

This is an enormous wine with an incredibly long finish. Sweet and opulent but there is structure too. Very intense red fruit, bright yet opulent. Lingers for minutes....

19
Stephen Browett, Farr Tasting, June 2012
Read more tasting notes...

The 2009 l'Eglise Clinet may eclipse some of the other efforts made by proprietor Denis Durantou over the years. Harvested between September 14 and 28, this blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc is a powerful, almost uber-concentrated wine that tastes like an elixir of Pomerol with an incredibly unctuous feel. This dense purple-colored 2009 (which achieved 14.5% natural alcohol) is extremely powerful, but that power is concealed beneath a mountain of glycerin, fruit, concentration, and body. The purity and richness are off the charts, and the silkiness of the tannins is ethereal. This extraordinary wine possesses extremely high levels of tannin, but according to Durantou, they have almost disappeared because of the wine's amazing depth and richness. It will undoubtedly need a decade of aging after bottling, but it should last for 50+. It is a modern day legend in the making. (Tasted two times.) Drink 2020-2070.

98/100
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188), April 2010

Picked between 14th and 28th September, a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, from a fresh sample opened half an hour before with the final assemblage, the L'Eglise-Clinet is adorned with a supremely intense bouquet, with ripe black fruits, black plum, black olive tapenade, a hint of liquorice and black truffle. Wonderful definition and sense of controlled power. The palate is full-bodied, voluminous in the mouth, an awesome structure, layers of mineral-rich black fruits counterpoised by a sense of weightless power towards the finish. In its own unique way, a monumental wine. Tasted April 2010.

96/98
Neal Martin, RobertParker.com, April 2010

The nose on this already suggests a deep and contemplative wine with blackberry, dried flowers and sweet berries. Evolves to black olive and hints of asphalt. Full-bodied, with supersilky tannins and tangy, rich fruit. It really grabs hold of you and wants to tell you it's special. Loads of ripe tannins too. Big and structured. Turns to tapenade.

97/100
James Suckling, WineSpectator.com, April 2010
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.