Chateau L´Eglise Clinet 2025

The Wine Cellar Insider: Violets, lilies, chocolate, espresso, plums, black cherries, and truffle aromatics already pop in the perfume. The palate is where the action really takes place. With just a swirl, and sip, you find concentrated layers of fleshy, opulent, creamy-textured, fruits, berries, chocolate, wet earth, and espresso. The complex, and powerful, velvet-drenched, opulent, lengthy finish continues along the same theme with a vibrant, polish to the hedonistic end notes that keep everything going long after your glass has been finished. The wine is produced from a blend of 90% Merlot with 10% Cabernet Franc, 14.5% ABV. The harvest took place September 4 - September 12. Drink from 2030-2065."

Vinum: Noch vom Holz geprägt, mit gewohnt viel Tiefgang und aromatischer Komplexität, Schwarzkirschen, Backpflaumen, darüber Veilchen und etwas Aniswürze; seidenweich am Gaumen, hochelegant, kraftvoll, dabei nie plump, die 14.5% Alkohol werden von einer sehr guten Säure gekontert, die Tannine sind präsent, der Wein tanzt zwischen Kraft, Struktur, Frucht und Würze hin und her, aromatisch von grosser Länge, hinterlässt ein salziges Mundgefühl. Grosses Pomerol-Kino."

Jeb Dunnuck: Red and blue fruits, sappy spring flowers, violets, graphite, and chocolate all define the 2025 Château L'Eglise Clinet, a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc resting in 75% new oak. Coming from tiny yields with no saignée and very little press wine, the harvest ran from September 4th through the 12th, and the result is a rich, powerful, yet finesse-driven Pomerol with fine, polished tannins and a wonderful sense of freshness. It's going to require some patience, but it will undoubtedly be worth it."

James Suckling: The definition, freshness and complexity are very impressive already. It’s like a finished wine. It’s medium-bodied with precise and vivid flavors of blackberries and cool olives. Long, energetic and dense yet not heavy. Classy. A blend of 90% merlot and 10% cabernet franc."

Jane Anson: Luscious dark cassis and bilberry fruits, pure perfume, peony and red rose petals, a standout in Pomerol, there is an enveloping and expansive mid palate with full on fennel and anis on close of play, so good, a wine full of emotion and grace. 75% new oak. Harvest September 4 to 12. Cooler fermentation than usual, not higher than 28C, because thick skins. 3.5ph. 4.5ha, so only 3 tanks compared to 5 normally, 30hll/ha. Olivier Guatraut cellar master with Noémie Durantou winemaker."

Lisa Perrotti-Brown: Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2025 L'Eglise-Clinet needs a little swirling before it erupts with a powerful perfume of violets, roses, and mint tea, leading to a core of ripe plums, boysenberry preserves, and anise, plus a waft of mossy tree bark. Full-bodied, the palate is laden with bright, evocative black and blue fruit flavors, supported by fine-grained tannins and bold freshness, finishing very long and fragrant. Mind-blowingly gorgeous. The blend is 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. The alcohol is 14.5%. It is aging in French oak barrels, 75% new. Winemaker Noémie Durantou calls it a kaleidoscope-it's a great description."

Decanter: Ripe blackcurrant and cherry aromas with some dried herbs and floral aspects - liquorice, cola, cinnamon, violets, peonies and bramble berries. Intense and concentrated from the start with equally vibrant acidity to match the quite lively, ripe and fresh fruit. Well textured, crushed velvet in the mouth, immediately quite serious and profound. Dark, heady, sexy almost but still relatively compact and tightly wound right now. Firm, fresh, lively but balanced acidity and dark fruit with a liquorice and salty edge. Incredibly compelling, a wine you want to sit with. Still quite high acidity - I think ageing will round this out and add a touch of gloss. A yield of 33hl/ha. Ageing 75% new oak."