2014 Eglise Clinet
The purity of fruit is so alluring in this wine. Aromas of crushed berries, lemon rind and flowers follow through to a full body, firm and silky tannins and a long and flavorful finish. All in finesse and texture. So fine and persistent. Try in 2022 but already an inspiration to taste. Read more
Critic Reviews
The purity of fruit is so alluring in this wine. Aromas of crushed berries, lemon rind and flowers follow through to a full body, firm and silky tannins and a long and flavorful finish. All in finesse and texture. So fine and persistent. Try in 2022 but already an inspiration to taste.
The 2014 L’Eglise-Clinet has a gentle, understated bouquet at first that takes time to open, eventually offering black fruit, melted tar, truffle and bay leaf aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin, rather masculine and thickset at the moment, lightly spiced towards the finish. Much like the Vieux-Château-Certan, this is a little awkward in a blind setting however, it clearly meliorates in the glass and I keep on having to up my score. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.
Truffle, blackberry, espresso and violet aromas ready your senses for more. Lush black cherry, boysenberry liqueur and licorice saturate this bright, fresh, vibrant wine. Concentrated, structured and long, leaving you with a supple, fresh, plumy finish, this wine will need time in the cellar before it reveals its true essence. Blending 90% Merlot with 10% Cabernet Franc, the wine reached 14% alcohol with a pH of 3.61 and will be aged in 70% new, French oak barrels. 95-96 Pts
The 2014 L'Eglise Clinet is a real head-turner. Gorgeous, super-expressive aromatics meld into a core of dark, sumptuous fruit. Lavender, mint, violets, graphite and crème de cassis notes abound in a powerful, structured wine endowed with magnificent purity and a skyscraper-like sense of lift. Finesse and power collide in a crystalline Pomerol of exceptional beauty. Powerful and dense to the core, the 2014 is shaping up to be one of the wines of the vintage. The blend is 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc.
The Château l’Eglise-Clinet 2014 is a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc picked from 26 September to 4 October and 17 to 21 October respectively and matured in 70% new oak. I tasted the wine from two barrels à la Burgundy with Denis Durantou. It has a gorgeous bouquet that boasts exquisite precision. It is not an intense nose but one that unfurls in the glass, revealing red berries, myrtle and more mineralité than probably any other Pomerol ’14 that I tasted from barrel. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannin. This is utterly harmonious, the Cabernet Franc more expressive than the 10% would suggest with a long, sophisticated finish whose cousin might be say, Vieux-Château-Certan. This continues a run of outstanding vintages from Denis Durantou and should offer 20+ years of drinking enjoyment.
This has a big ball of raspberry confiture at the core, with dark licorice and warm fruitcake notes. Hedonistic only to a point, as a serious graphite beam runs throughout, giving this serious drive through the finish. This will keep pace with the top dogs in this vintage. Best from 2020 through 2035.— J.M.
A gorgeous wine with depth and complexity - layers of black fruits combine with savory spices and violets. This wine has both a beautiful texture and balance with great freshness. Mostly Merlot with 10% Cabernet Franc. Only 18,000 bottles produced.
Technical Attributes
- Producer: Château l'Eglise Clinet
- Varietal: Merlot Cabernet Franc
- Region: Bordeaux
- Alcohol: 14.0%
- Net volume: 750ml
- Vintage: 2014
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Style GuideLight Intense