La Clotte 2020

From holdings on the outskirts of the town of Saint-Émilion, the Vauthier family's 2020 La Clotte has turned out beautifully, mingling aromas of raspberries and mulberries with hints of petals, incense and vine smoke. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated and vibrant, it's suave and precise, concluding with a penetrating finish. The blend is 85% Merlot with 15% Cabernet Franc.

The 2020 La Clotte comes from a small 4-hectare estate, rapidly becoming one of the Vauthier family's most coveted crus. This is another in the canon of outstanding recent vintages. It offers a mixture of red and black fruit, pain d'épices and crushed stone, gaining complexity with aeration while remaining very cohesive. The palate is very harmonious with finely-chiseled tannins, a seam of graphite imparted by the 15% Cabernet Franc, beautifully focused and refined towards the finish. This is a very classy Saint-Émilion, one that will require time.

Composed of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, the 2020 La Clotte is deep garnet-purple in color. Very closed to begin, it offers glimpses of cedar, redcurrant preserves, and stewed plums, giving way to fragrant notes of violets, aniseed, and Sichuan pepper. The medium to full-bodied palate is chock full of black fruit with red berry accents and firm, grainy tannins, finishing long and spicy.

Anis, almond and marzipan on the nose. There is a subtle interplay of tannin and acidity, linear and direct, finishing up with a clementine and orange rind bitterness that also gives a sense of forward propulsion through the palate. Has definition and personality, and continues its improvements under the Ausone team. Moulin St Georges has more breadth, depth and texture through the palate - this has more of a limestone squeeze, giving plenty of choice depending on what you are looking for.

Drinking Window 2027 - 2045

85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc. Cask sample.
Definitely on an upward curve these days. Lovely pitch of pure, dark fruit. Hint of liquorice as well. Energy and concentration on the palate, the plentiful but silky tannins providing power and persistence. Shows both muscle and finesse. (JL)
Drink 2027 – 2038

(85% M, 15% CF; 100% new)
Fresh, dense, ripe red-fruit and gentle mineral impressions; moderately concentrated, fresh, delicately tannic, very nicely balanced, if a touch alcohol-warm; sweetly, freshly ripe, long and juicy to taste, St-Emilion pure and transparent, graceful, subtly complex, gently racy, and with lovely aromatic length. A refined, restrained, limestone-Côte wine, which wears its 100% new wood completely imperceptibly. Six years after the Vauthier purchase and, after a long period of underperformance, surprisingly gorgeous. 2028–50+.