Chateau L'Eglise Clinet 2023

Goosebumps guaranteed, a nose you can dive into—floral, stony, dark-fruited, majestic; a fleshy palate, generous fruit, firm tannins in counterpoint, immensely energetic, full of tension, powerful, with a long, lingering finish. A monumental L'Église Clinet, built for a small eternity.

Crafted from deep-rooted vines in both clay and clayey gravel, this estate succeeds like no other in expressing power from this appellation but without any hard or drying tannins, which one can encounter in 2023 from other estates. Cool and confident menthol, bright tangy red berry and blueberry fruit aromas introduce an almost Pauillac-like palate whose tannic grip is happily balanced by blood-red-orange-like freshness. Aged in 82% new oak, this wine was made from grapes picked before the September rains: the tannins show no rawness, but rather pristine ripeness. I love the linear focus wrapped in subtle succulence, ending with a long finish. Give it every chance to improve in your cellar, not before 2033, when it will fully reward your patience.

The 2023 L'Eglise-Clinet was potentially one of the wines of the vintage after its sublime performance from barrel. Now in bottle since May after maturation in 82% new oak, it has a seamless bouquet, a mixture of red and black fruit, veins of blue fruit mixed with violet and iris petal, hints of black truffle emerging with time. The palate delivers with that intense, quite mineral-driven smorgasbord of red fruit that gently grip the palate. Wonderful backbone, very precise with a sustained finish, this is a brilliant L'Eglise-Clinet from Noëmie Durantou that should give 30 to 40 years' drinking pleasure.

The wine quickly focuses you on its floral characteristics paired with black raspberries, plums, black and white cherries, dark chocolate, and just a hint of coffee beans. The palate, however, is where the excitement takes place. The wine is opulent, rich, aromatic, concentrated, and long. The mark of freshness is there, but you also experience the wine’s elegance and silky tannins, as well as its length and width on the mid-palate and finish. Interestingly, here, it was the moderate amount of sun hours that helped make the vintage, as it shielded the grapes from the late-summer heat wave. From a blend of 90% Merlot with 10% Cabernet Franc, 14.60% ABV. The harvest took place September 10–September 14. It is great to see continuing strong wines from the Durantou family. Drink from 2029–2060. 97–99 pts.

Rises through the palate, intense and concentrated with cloves, pomegranate, black pepper, cumin, rosemary, rich black fruits balanced and given lift and contrast by nuanced and fresher raspberry leaf, tomato leaf, saline squid ink, and fresh citrus peel acidities. This has cohesion, precision, lift and character. Noëmie Durantou winemaker. Harvest September 1 to 18. 42hl/ha yield.