2017 L'Eglise Clinet
By Chateau L'Eglise Clinet
2017 L'Eglise Clinet from Chateau L'Eglise Clinet, Pomerol, Bordeaux
A sojourn through the 2017 vintage offerings from the renowned Pomerol appellations is incomplete without an encounter with the consistently splendid L'Eglise Clinet. I have tracked the progression from bud to bottle throughout a tenure spanning four decades and have unearthed in each, a tale of climatic navigation and viticultural prowess. The 2017 L'Eglise Clinet from Chateau L'Eglise Clinet emerges as testament to the triumph over a growing season fraught with volatility.
Remarkably Resilient: The Craft in Adversity
The year 2017 was characterised by unexpected frost, which universally challenged Bordeaux vignerons. Chateau L'Eglise Clinet's meticulous adaptation is woven boldly into each bottle. This vintage reveals how expertly Denis Durantou, the perennially esteemed winemaker, shielded the fruits of his labour. Timing, indeed, is everything in the winemaking tapestry, and Durantou's preemptive strategies culminated in a harvest that sidestepped the whims of nature.
Intimate Interactions: The Terroir's Whisper
The L'Eglise Clinet’s gravel atop iron-rich clay soils have once again confided their intimate secrets into the varietals' ripe skins. This particular vintage makes a gripping confession through an olfactory oration laced with truffles and violets. On the palate, one is embraced by sumptuously integrated tannins; an interplay of Merlot's lushness with Cabernet Franc's architectural finesse - layering black cherries over an earthy canvas.
The 2017 vintage performs balletically, eschewing muscular vigour for refined elegance. It is within this subtle spectrum that producers such as Chateau L'Eglise Clinet distinguish their craft; producing a wine that exudes vitality yet is supposed ever so gracefully for longevity.
Investment Worthy: Future's Promise Encapsulated
Vintages like 2017, sculpted with great care against adversity, present a rare opportunity for wine investors. The 2017 L'Eglise Clinet offers a compelling addition to portfolios; its restrained opulence bespeaks a potential that astute collectors will recognise and covet.
This vintage embodies an ethos of quiet resilience and offers promise as one of Pomerol's sage investments, with years ahead to flourish and unfurl its narrative in a connoisseur’s cellar. An investment in such a wine is not simply financial but perceptibly emotional; one awaits with bated breath as it vivifies and matures through time's passage.
Market price (GBP)
£1,420.00
12x75cl
Highest score
98
POP score
78.89
Scores and tasting notes
This really rolls on the palate with fantastic fruit and tannins. Full-bodied, structured and layered. Long, long finish. Impressive all the way.
James Suckling - jamessuckling.com
Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 L'Eglise Clinet begins a little closed and broody, soon unfurling to reveal powerful notes of baked black plums, chocolate-covered cherries and blueberry preserves with hints of chargrill, mocha and aniseed plus a touch of tar. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is a powerhouse of crunchy, vibrant black fruit, framed by wonderfully ripe, rounded tannins and oodles of freshness, finishing long and savory. Bravo!
Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Advocate, 16 March 2020
A blend of 90% Merlot with 10% Cabernet Franc, the deep garnet-purple colored 2017 L'Eglise Clinet opens with crème de cassis, black forest cake and preserved plums notes with suggestions of underbrush, lilacs and star anise plus an invigorating spark of Bing cherries. Medium to full-bodied and built like a brick house with very firm, ripe tannins and very refreshing acidity supporting the tightly wound muscular fruit, it finishes with epic persistence and bags of energy. This will be extremely long lived!
Wine Advocate - Lisa Perrotti-Brown - robertparker.com
The 2017 L'Eglise-Clinet is one of the most polished, sensual wines of the year. Bright, precise and yet full of flavor, the 2017 has a lot to offer. Cedar, licorice and rose petal are just some of the many nuances that add aromatic dimension. Deceptive in its mid-weight structure, the 2017 offers notable intensity and persistence. What a gorgeous wine it is. Harvest was about a week earlier than normal. Denis Durantou gave the various lots in the Grand Vin 15-18 days on the skins. The 70% new oak is impeccably balanced in several samples.
Antonio Galloni - Antonio Galloni - vinous.com - May '18
The 2017 L’Eglise-Clinet was picked between 12 and 22 September, the Cabernet Franc coming in on the last day. Nothing was touched by the frost. It is matured in 70% new oak. Denis Durantou did not specify the exact quantity produced, “Just enough for my friends” according to his spec sheet! The bouquet is very succinct, perhaps more open than either the 2015 or 2016 at this early stage, extraordinarily pure with blackberry, wild strawberry, smoke and truffle. It just gets better and better as it opens in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, linear and focused, very fresh with pointed acidity. This is full of tension and poise, a touch of graphite emerging towards the finish that lingers in the mouth with superb salinité at the end. It completes a triumvirate for Denis Durantou after the 2015 and 2016s.
Neal Martin - Neal Martin - vinous.com - May '18
A nice core of gently steeped plum and boysenberry fruit is liberally infused with anise accents. A light bramble edge carries the finish. This has good underlying energy, with some fruit in reserve.—J.M.
Wine Spectator - James Molesworth - winespectator.com