Chateau Clinet 2023

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "The 2023 Clinet has a deep garnet-purple color. It slowly emerges from the glass with wonderfully fragrant scents of dark chocolate, violets, plum preserves, and blueberry compote, leading to hints of kirsch and rose oil. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers energetic black and blue fruit layers, with a velvety texture and lively backbone, finishing long and perfumed. Beautiful!"

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Lilacs, violets, smoke, spice, cherries, plums, licorice, orange rind, and chocolate mint fill the aromatic profile. On the palate, the wine is energetic, vibrant, long, and up-beat. The fruit offers purity, persistence, length, and width. It takes a few sips before you find its heart. But, once you do, it's apparent that the layers of vibrant, red fruits, complicated by the nuances of orange zest, are special. The refined, silky, finish builds as it lingers. The keys to the vintage here were the combination of cloudy summer skies with heat spells in September. In the cellars this is the first vintage with a pre-maceration cool-down which helped protect the grapes from oxidation. The wine blends 75% Merlot with 25% Cabernet Sauvignon. 14% ABV, 3.7 pH. Harvesting took place September 13 - September 20 for the Merlot, and September 25-26 for the Cabernet. Drink from 2027-2060."

JAMES SUCKLING: "This is full-bodied yet tight and poised, with a pretty, pure center-palate of ripe fruit and fine, integrated tannins. Classy presence. May be better than 2022."

WEINWISSER: "75 % Merlot, 25 % Cabernet Franc. Delikates blaubeeriges Bouquet, zarte Fliedernote, Lakritze und Pfeifentabak. Am komplexen Gaumen mit seidiger Textur, engmaschigem Tanninkorsett, balancierter Rasse und geradlinigem Körper. Im konzentrierten langen Finale mit ungeheurer Präzision und Dynamik, blauen Beeren, Graphit und feinkörniger Adstringenz. Kann noch zulegen."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Rich and layered, the 2023 Clinet wafts from the glass with aromas of dark berries, spices and licorice, framed by creamy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, deep and complete, with a rich chassis of powdery tannin underpinning its sweet core of fruit, it concludes with a broad, vanillin-inflected finish. As is routinely the case at this address, it's a successfully rendered Pomerol in a more modern style."

JEB DUNNUCK: "The 2023 Château Clinet is flat-out gorgeous, and it's certainly going to be up near the top end of the pyramid in the vintage. Based on Merlot with a touch of Cabernet Sauvignon, it has a deep ruby/plum hue as well as ripe, darker red and black fruits, roasted herbs, graphite, chocolate, and spring flowers. These carry to a medium to full-bodied Pomerol with a round, seamless mouthfeel, present, ripe, polished tannins, and outstanding length. While it clearly plays in the lively, elegant style of the vintage, it packs plenty of muscle and depth."

VINUM: "Reiffruchtig, tief, dunkle Beeren, noble Röstnote; fruchtiger Auftakt, wird dann straff, merklich Gerbstoff, viel Frische, zeigt Zug und Rasse, hallt lange nach. Weniger monolithisch, eleganter als in früheren Jahren."

DECANTER: "With ripe red fruit and spicy aromatics, this wine gets off to a fine start, with a brisk attack packed with ripe red berry and plum fruit. I also like the freshness, tension and a long finish. But it shows rather firm tannins with some drying extraction. Conservative score, as we await the final result after the barrel ageing."

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, tiefer Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Zarte Edelholzwürze, schwarze Kirschen, kandierte Veilchen, Mandarinenzesten sind unterlegt. Mittlerer Körper, feine Beerenfrucht, integrierte Tannine, feiner Säurebogen, saliner Abgang, balanciert, rotbeeriger Touch, ein finessenreicher Speisenbegleiter."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Good, deep colour. Ripe and concentrated on the nose. Good depth of fruit on the palate. Fine tannins provide structure and persistence. Not the most concentrated Clinet but fresh and balanced. Shows some ageing potential. Drink 2030 – 2043"