| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > Pomerol |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
An immaculate wine with pristine blackberries and dark plums as well as fresh, earthy nuances and dark crushed violets. An upright palate with lightly peppery dark berries and plums. The inflection of cabernet here makes for an impressively powerful wine that still exudes Pomerol’s suave, seductive charm. Chalky, seamless tannins. Super fresh. Try from 2022.
The 2015 Clinet has a beautifully delineated bouquet, quite floral in style with rose petal and iris scents filtering through the red fruit. A second bottle is a little distant with more pronounced crushed stone aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, a fine bead of acidity, but those tannins tend to dominate the finish that feels a little mean. I think this is enduring a very dumb phase and should not be broached for a few years. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.
Made from 90% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 1% Cabernet Franc, the 2015 Clinet is deep garnet-purple colored. It races out with intense scents of blackberry preserves, raspberry coulis, and plum preserves with touches of Chinese five spice, cracked black pepper, and tree bark. Full-bodied, firm, and chewy, the generous palate is lifted by red fruit sparks and it finishes on a lingering mineral note.
Tasted blind. Blueish crimson. Meaty and appetising on the nose. Very appetising and racy with a floral note. But not big-boned – balance is the thing. A bit chewy on the end; dry finish. Several tasters queried whether this wine had TCA so we tasted a second bottle that turned out to be identical.
Drink 2023-2035
Mid to deep crimson. Dark and fragrant on the nose. Smells quite Cabernet-Sauvignon-like with cassis and cedar underneath the oak. Dry, a little chalky but still succulent on the finish. Lovely harmony of fruit, freshness and fine tannins. (JH) 14%
Drink 2025-2038
This small (8 hectare) property is situated at the edge of the plateau of Pomerol behind Clos L'Eglise. It shot to fame following a 100 point Parker rating in 1989 and then repeated this feat 20 years later. The wines here are serious, dense and powerful. 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet (mainly Sauvignon). The elevage is in 65% new oak and proprietor Ronan Laborde says that the wine reminds him of the 2005 but with rounder, softer, more velvetty tannins. Deep colour. Smoky with new oak and ripe with black cherry on the nose. There is a concentrated black fruit palate with mouthcoating tannins from both grape and wood giving a firm, chewy texture to the wine. This is certainly a wine that will need some time. Mulberry and cassis fruit are central to the flavour profile here, with sweet vanilla and spicy, smoky new oak. This is a powerful Clinet!
Depth on the nose the fruit on the palate is sweet and rich fleshy black plum. There is mid suppleness velvety richness with bramble at the back balancing and giving freshness. It fills out on the finish with sweet fleshy black fruit. 2025-35
Picked comparatively early, this is correspondingly fresh and well balanced with floral,
violet-scented aromas, lots of plush bramble, plum and blackberry fruit, nuanced tannins
and a fresh, minerally finish. Classy stuff from a château in an impressive run of form.
Drink: 2022-32
The wonderful Clinet glossy fruit aroma is all present and correct here and just when you think that it will carry on in seductive mode it changes tack and dives down into dark, brooding, malevolent mood with soaring tannins and combative oak. This is a gripping wine and it never oversteps the mark, wisely deciding to remain perfectly balanced. The finish is very long and fine and this will be a long-lived Clinet on account of its sensational tannins.
A blend of 90% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 1% Cabernet Franc matured in 65% new and 35% one-year-old French oak for 16 months, the 2015 Clinet offers a medium to deep garnet-purple color and slowly, provocatively unfurls in the glass with notes of crushed black cherries, warm black raspberries and red cherry compote plus nuances of bay leaves, cinnamon stick, star anise, fenugreek and forest floor and wafts of potpourri and mocha. The palate reveals a sensuous medium-bodied style offset beautifully by very firm, very silky tannins and packed with energetic, multifaceted fruit as well as great tension, finishing long with an arresting spice and floral perfume. A real stunner! 2022 - 2045
The 2015 Clinet is just a brilliant wine from Ronan Laborde and his team. It has a refined bouquet that is extremely well defined, blackberry, briary, crushed stone and hints of black truffle developing with time. It just shouts "Pomerol!" at the top of its voice. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannin. There is a taut and crisp acidity that lends this Clinet a beguiling sense of symmetry and poise. This is a classy, mineral-driven Pomerol that has enormous potential. Anticipated maturity: 2022 - 2045.
The 2015 Clinet is a blend of 90% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Cabernet Franc, cropped at 37 hl/ha and matured in 65% new oak. It was picked from 15 September commencing with the young Merlot vines, and finishing between 28 and 1 October with the very old Merlots and the Cabernets. A couple of specific features to note: the alcohol level is 14.3%, perhaps a little lower than some of Clinet's peers and also a IPT of up to 88, higher than 2010 even. Broody at first, it eventually develops a perfumed bouquet as it opens, with black fruit, melted tar and a brush of black truffle. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin. There is plenty of nascent energy in this Clinet, spicier than other vintages that I have tasted over the years, linear at first and then fanning out towards the finish with a dash of white pepper on the aftertaste. It is a very harmonious Clinet, one that I suspect will favor those with the nous to age this Pomerol for 5-7 years, even though it might tempt you earlier. This is a great Pomerol from Ronan Laborde and his team. Drink 2025-2050.
OMG. This is really dense and rich with velvety tannins and so much fruit and length. Super concentration and structure. Greatest Clinet ever. No jam. Just class.
Made from 90% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 1% Cabernet Franc, the 2015 Clinet is deep garnet-purple colored. It races out with intense scents of blackberry preserves, raspberry coulis, and plum preserves with touches of Chinese five spice, cracked black pepper, and tree bark. Full-bodied, firm, and chewy, the generous palate is lifted by red fruit sparks and it finishes on a lingering mineral note.
Purplish. Almost overripe nose. Very velvety texture. More savoury than sweet on the palate. Hugely ambitious. Rather drying tannins on the end. Not my style but a very good example of the super-concentrated style.
Drink 2023-2038
