2018 L'Eglise Clinet
By Chateau L'Eglise Clinet
2018 L'Eglise Clinet from Chateau L'Eglise Clinet, Pomerol, Bordeaux
The 2018 vintage of L'Eglise Clinet from Chateau L'Eglise Clinet stands as a testament to the exceptional conditions bestowed upon the Pomerol region. This particular year offered a stage for the wine to express the virtuosity of its terroir with vivid clarity. As an observer of the wines from Bordeaux for four decades, I have found the singularity of this vintage particularly enthralling.
A Vintage Defined by Balance and Precision
Indeed, 2018 in Pomerol was marked by a miraculous reprieve from climatic extremes, gifting vignerons with both optimal maturity in their grapes and retention of essential acidity. This confluence of conditions is splendidly manifested in the wine's deft juxtaposition of ripe, sensuous fruit with a spine of Pomerol minerality – an interplay that is nothing short of balletic.
The 2018 L'Eglise Clinet articulates its narrative through layers of dark cherries and plums, underwritten by a rich seam of truffle and wet earth which speaks to its origins. Each sip reveals further complexity; graphite and subtle spices emerge, carried on a framework that is both muscular and elegantly sculpted. As is chiselled from the greatest clay soils of Bordeaux, this vintage bears the signature silkiness that discerning collectors have come to revere in L'Eglise Clinet.'s offerings
An Investment in Liquid Artistry
When it comes to astute wine investment, provenance is parallel to taste in significance. With the 2018 L'Eglise Clinet buoyed by excellent critic scores and emerging as one of the most alluring vintages for Pomerol enthusiasts and investors alike, it represents an addition to portfolios that is as strategic as it is sensorial.
The sensuality and acumen encapsulated in each bottle of 2018 L'Eglise Clinet posit it unequivocally as one of the most apposite selections for connoisseurs seeking both hedonic pleasure and prudent capital growth from their investments in fine wines.
Market price (HKD)
HK$18,070.00
12x75cl
Highest score
99
POP score
99.47
Scores and tasting notes
This is incredibly powerful with fantastic depth and length. It goes on for minutes. Full-bodied yet so tight and intense. Blackberries and hints of spice. It has such energy and persistence. It is a wine that makes you really reflect. Bravo. Tiny production.
James Suckling - jamessuckling.com - April 2019
A blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, the 2018 L'Eglise Clinet has a 3.63 pH and 14.5% alcohol. It was aged in 70% new barriques. Deep garnet-purple in color, it opens with a stunning fragrant-earth perfume, accented by notions of wild mushrooms, mossy tree bark and crushed rocks, giving way to a core of black raspberries, plum preserves and fresh blueberries, plus wafts of lavender and clove oil. Medium to full-bodied, the palate shimmers with energy, delivering slow-releasing black fruit and earthy layers, framed by very ripe, finely grained tannins and fantastic tension. It finishes with epic length and subtlety. It is already so evocative and beautifully expressed at this youthful stage that is tempting to broach straight away, but give it another 5-6 years to really fan its feathers, and drink it over the next 40 or more years.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Advocate, 31 March 2021
This is rich, with layers upon layers of black chocolate, ripe fleshy blackberries and raspberries tempered by acidity and tannins that support, pushing the entire palate slowly onwards and upwards. It has all the generosity of the vintage but tempered with Durantou's amazing ability to sculpt freshness out of the fruit his vineyards deliver. It’s immensely seductive and powerful with more evident flesh than the 2016 – a wine that’s going to run and run.
Jane Anson - Decanter - April 2019
Maintaining freshness in the wine was a priority for Denis Durantou at L’Eglise Clinet. “The pH developed quite quickly,” he said. “We had to test it every day; we had made a conscious decision to pick before it got too high. At a maximum of 3.7 pH, we pick. As soon as we have an evolution—a flavor change—we decide to pick.” Merlot was picked September 18-26 and Cabernet Franc on September 28. The resulting wine has a 3.63 pH and 14.5% alcohol and will be aged in 70% new barriques. A blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, the 2018 L'Eglise Clinet is deep purple-black in color and opens with beguiling truffles, forest floor, mossy bark and black tea scents, slowly unfurling to reveal a core of Black Forest cake, plum preserves, licorice and candied violets plus wafts of tar and cast iron pan. Full-bodied, concentrated and jam-packed with muscular fruit, the velvety-textured palate delivers layer upon layer of savory and earthy accents, finishing with a lingering mineral lift.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Advocate, 23rd April 2019
Lush in feel, with boysenberry reduction and crushed plum flavors, carried by a polished, solid structure. A mineral hint filters through on the finish, adding length and cut.—J.M.
James Molesworth - Wine Spectator - April 2019
The 2018 L'Eglise-Clinet is a powerful, tightly wound wine. In fact, it is one of the most reticent Pomerols I tasted, which makes it hard to evaluate today but probably bodes extremely well for the future. Dark and brooding in the glass, the 2018 has too much to offer. A wine of real gravitas and power, the 2018 is likely to need the better part of the next decade to open up, and even that probably won't be enough. Spice, leather, lavender, rose petal and tobacco gradually develop in the glass, but what really comes through is the sheer depth and intensity of the year.
Antonio Galloni - Vinous - April 2019