Clinet - Pomerol 2018

Vinous

94

byAntonio Gallonithe3/31/2021

The 2018 Clinet is a powerful, reticent wine that is going to need at least a few years in bottle to become approachable. Today, the tannins are especially forbidding, Inky dark red fruit, iron, cedar, mint, licorice and dried herbs give Clinet its signature profile marked by savory Cabernet Sauvignon aromas and flavors. This is a terrific showing from Clinet and proprietor Ronan Laborde.

Wine Advocate

97

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe3/31/2021

The 2018 Clinet is a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged for approximately 16 months in French oak barriques, 75% new. Deep garnet-purple colored, the nose is locked down tight at first sniff, requiring a good amount of air to begin to reveal profound notions of stewed black plums, mulberries and black cherry compote, plus hints of black truffles, damp soil, tobacco leaf and chargrill with an emerging waft of cedar. The full-bodied palate is a full-on volcano of black fruit and molten rock waiting to erupt, with a solid frame of firm, grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing with amazing length. There is a lot going on here, but it is a wine for the patient. Give it a good 5-7 years in bottle, at least, and drink it over the next 30+ years. 97+

Jeb DUNNUCK

99

byJeb Dunnuckthe3/16/2021

Including slightly more Cabernet Sauvignon than usual, the 2018 Château Clinet is 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon that was brought up in 75% new French oak. One of the superstars of the vintage, it has incredible elegance and finesse as well as gorgeous richness and depth. Notes of cassis and truffly dark fruits as well as tobacco, damp earth, chocolate, and lead pencil shavings emerge from the glass, and it's full-bodied, with a seamless, multi-dimensional texture, gorgeous tannins, and a great, great finish. It already offers incredible pleasure, but it won't hit maturity for another 5-7 years and should evolve for 30 years or more. This magical wine is in the same league as the 2015 and 2016, and drinking these beauties over the coming decades will be an incredible treat.

The Wine Cellar Insider

97

byJeff Levethe3/16/2021

Deeply colored, the wine is intensely concentrated with layers of black, red and blue fruits accompanied by licorice, dark cocoa, truffle, flowers, espresso bean and hints of Asian spice. There is a fabulous sense of purity to the fruits that really comes alive when the layers of velvet drenched fruits hit your palate. The wine is equally hedonistic and elegant, which is a hard thing to accomplish. The wine will age and evolve with ease for 3 decades.

Vinous

95

byNeal Martinthe3/12/2021

The 2018 Clinet, which was cropped at 38hl/ha, has an exquisite bouquet of lavish black cherry and raspberry fruit, and still those bunches of violets I observed from barrel, flanked by potpourri. The aromatics are well defined and the new oak seamlessly integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit. It has firmed up since I tasted in barrel, when I noted that it felt like a "muscular" Clinet in the making. That trait is emphasized in bottle, and those accustomed to the more hedonistic Clinets of yore might find it a tad more reserved and drier. But it is a style that suits it well. White pepper leaves the mouth tingling after it has departed, the fitting conclusion to a superb – dare I say cerebral? – Clinet that has a long and prosperous future.

Yvesbeck.wine

94

byYves Beckthe1/26/2021

Beaucoup d'élégance et de fraicheur dans le bouquet de Clinet 2018. Le vin sait concilier le charme du millésime et la fraîcheur du terroir avec des parfums de baies rouges et pruneaux. En bouche le vin est racé et juteux. Les tannins sont compacts, serrés, tandis que la structure a du tempérament. Il faudra un peu laisser du temps à ce vin qui a de quoi aller dans le temps. Finale persistante.

Jamessuckling.com

96

byJames Sucklingthe1/19/2021

Blackberries and blueberries with subtle black chocolate and violets on the nose, following to a full-bodied palate with polished, creamy tannins. Beautiful balance and really refined texture. Drink after 2024, but already so gorgeous.

Decanter.com

97

byJane Ansonthe1/12/2021

Vinous

93-95

byNeal Martinthe11/15/2019

The 2018 Clinet was picked from 19 September until 5 October at 45hL/ha before selection and 38hL/ha projected for the Grand Vin. It has a sumptuous and very pure bouquet with perfumed black cherry, iodine and crushed violet aromas, although it remains controlled and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins, quite a muscular Clinet in the making with good backbone, layers of black fruit laced with clove, white pepper and truffle. This is nicely detailed on the finish. The 2018 should grow up into a very fine Clinet.

WeinWisser

18

byTjark Witzgallthe5/7/2019

Bettane & Desseauve

96

by Bettane & Desseauvethe5/3/2019

Le plus grand clinet de l’histoire, avec une attaque satinée, un centre de bouche dense et soyeux bien fourni. Cela n’exclut pas l’élégance, la fraîcheur et une envolée finale florale irrésistible. Un des coups de cœur de l’année à Pomerol.

Vinifera

93

byJacques Perrinthe5/1/2019

Le nez est élégant, doté d'une belle profondeur. Très belle entrée en bouche, crémeuse, veloutée. Evolution sur un corps shérique, chatoyant. La finale demeure toutefois linéaire. 

The Wine Cellar Insider

97-99

byJeff Levethe4/23/2019

Sensual, luscious and sexy, this is bottled decadence. The wine takes pure plums drenches them in velvet and drizzles them with roses, dark chocolate, licorice, espresso and truffle. The wine is full bodied, concentrated, powerful and lush. Produced from blending 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and hitting 14.75% alcohol, the wine is aging in 75% new, French oak barrels. The harvest took place September 19 to October 5.

Wine Advocate

94-96

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe4/23/2019

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 Clinet begins a little coy and then, with coaxing, opens out to vibrant black cherries, kirsch, baked plums and cinnamon stick scents with hints of cloves and anise plus earthy truffles and fungi wafts. Full-bodied and chock-full of bright, energetic fruit, it has a firm, finely grained structure and long, fragrant finish. The blend is 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. Aging is anticipated to last for 16 months in French oak barriques, 75% new.

Wine Enthusiast

94-96

byRoger Vossthe4/17/2019

A perfumed wine with fine tannins, this is packed with a blackberry flavor and finishes with intense acidity. All the elements are in place for a wine that will reveal great elegance as it develops.

Jamessuckling.com

95-96

byJames Sucklingthe4/12/2019

This is a young red that really grows on the palate with so much dark fruit and firm yet luscious tannins. Full-bodied, it grows and grows on the palate. Extremely long and vivid. Solid as a rock. 15 per cent cabernet sauvignon, the rest merlot.

Jean-Marc QUARIN

95

byJean-Marc Quarinthe4/8/2019

Decanter.com

97

byJane Ansonthe4/1/2019

One of the star Pomerol names showing us how it’s done in 2018. This wine absolutely stands out, being beautifully vibrant and very polished, where you feel the individual strands of flavour and know it’s clearly going to age. Here you get licks of salted rosemary sprigs right on the nose followed by a silkiness and round mouthfeel that speaks to the alcohol but you certainly don't feel it. It’s well judged, very Pomerol, and on the dark side of the fruit scale, perhaps because this is Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, not Cabernet Franc. I found Clinet a little difficult to approach in 2017, giving it a highly recommended but at the low end of the scale, but here it is roaring back to form.
Drinking Window 2027 - 2044