| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
In May 2020 we received the sad news that the 2019 would be the last vintage made by the brilliant, late Denis Durantou of L'Eglise Clinet. This modestly priced cuvée comes from a 9 hectare parcel of 35 year old Merlot vines in Saint Etienne de Lisse.
This is racy and really fine with beautiful, polished tannins that run the length of the wine, It’s medium-bodied and really energetic. Hints of nutmeg. Give it a year or two, but hard to resist.
A little shy out of the gates, the 2019 Bourgneuf offers up rich aromas of dark berry fruit, asphalt, loamy soil and new oak. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated and lively, with powdery tannins and good length on the finish, it will require a bit of patience. Drink 2023-2043.
The 2019 Saintayme is endowed with an impressively well-defined and focused bouquet with intense black cherries and blackberry fruit, tobacco and cedar. Plenty of energy here. The palate is quite oaky on the entry, but this is a Right Bank with plenty of stuffing, quite peppery towards the finish and demonstrating admirable persistence. Superb. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. Drink 2025-2040.
Deep ruby colour. Very perfumed on the nose, full of violets, cherry blossom and deeper brambles. The palate is chalky and rich, with pithy fruit in the middle. Good weight, but still structured, it needs a year or two in bottle to flesh out and open up for drinking. Long, spicy and perfumed on the finish.
100% Merlot and aged in 30% new oak, the 2019 Saintayme is medium to deep garnet-purple colored. It leaps from the glass with vibrant scents of juicy blackberries, wild blueberries, and rose oil, plus suggestions of chocolate box and underbrush. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers mouth-filling black fruits with fine-grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with a skip in its step.
Blue fruits, earth, tobacco, as it opens you get rosebud, heather and raspberry leaf, with an austere crushed stone edge. As things open, the fruits become creamier but this could do with a few more years to fully soften. Harvest October 1 to 4. 30% new oak.
Tasted blind. Glowing crimson. A nod to the old oak’n’alcohol formula though not too excessive. But alcohol is pretty obvious on the finish actually! Rather old fashioned, as in late 20th century. 14.5%
Drink 2028– 2038
The 2019 vintage is 100% Merlot, aged in 30% new French oak. It is 14.5% abv, and 65,000 bottles will be produced. Deep ruby in colour, this shows sweet, fleshy red fruits on the nose with a hint of blueberry and spice. The palate is soft, seamless and plummy, with ripe fruit tempered by crisp acids. This wine is already fully integrated and should offer excellent drinkability from the get go, with a long, pure finish of red fruit.
100% Merlot; 30% new oak. St-Émilion brand from the Denis Durantou stable. Same vineyard has supplied the grapes since 2003. Barrel sample.
Accent on the fruit with pure, dark- and red-berry aromas and flavour. Chalky tannins behind. Firm, dry finish. A little dusty but the fruit stays. (JL) 14.5%
Drink 2024 – 2030
Black chocolate, baked earth, liquorice root and silky smooth tannins greet you on the first attack of this wine. I've never found this the easiest to love of the Durantou range but it is strikingly successful in 2019. Silky and yet slatey in texture, this both eases you through the palate and pulls you up short, slowing things down. Sparks of fresh minerality accompany the pulsing blueberry and raspberry fruits, and the juicy finish makes this one to look out for. Drinking Window 2027 - 2042
The 2019 Saintayme has calmed down nicely since I tasted the barrel sample, still outgoing in some ways yet displaying fine delineation and a tad more terroir expression. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins on the entry, quite sapid for this cuvée, and lightly spiced, leading to a structured finish. Don’t hesitate to leave this in bottle for a couple of years.
The 2019 Saintayme, Denis Durantou's Saint-Émilion pure Merlot vineyard, was picked between 1 and 4 October and matures in 30% new oak. It is the most outgoing of the late winemaker's sextet of wines, kirsch and crushed strawberry scents bursting from the glass with a touch of cola. The palate is fleshy and ripe with impressive weight. Good density develops towards the back end with a saline tang on the aftertaste. Give it two or three years in bottle. 2024 - 2036
A red with lovely, juicy character and plenty of ripe fruit and chocolate undertones. It’s rich and layered. Flavorful. More concentration than the 2018.
Produced by Denis Darantou and family of Château L’Eglise-Clinet, made from 100% Merlot, the 2019 Saintayme has a deep garnet-purple color. It explodes from the glass with bombastic notes of stewed plums, baked black cherries and fruitcake with hints of mocha, unsmoked cigars and fragrant soil plus a waft of Chinese five spice. Medium to full-bodied, rich and decadent in the mouth, it has a solid foundation of chewy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing spicy.
