Eglise Clinet - Pomerol 2020

Vinous

98-98

byNeal Martinthe2/28/2025

The 2020 L'Eglise-Clinet has a very intense bouquet with multi-layered red and black fruit, cedar and iron scents—complex and engaging, though there is a touch of oak still to be assimilated. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe, saturated tannins. Satin-textured, seamless and very precise with an irresistible, youthful, sensual finish, this is a brilliant wine that needs a few years in bottle (if you can resist). Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

Vinous

98

byNeal Martinthe1/1/2024

N°28 TOP 100 VINOUS

NM: “The 2020 l'Eglise-Clinet is tinged with poignancy, as winemaker Denis Durantou passed away that spring. But his daughters continued his legacy and completed this fabulous Pomerol that shone during a blind tasting. It's a wine that will give 30 to 40 years of drinking pleasure." 

The 2020 L'Eglise-Clinet has a very intense bouquet with multi-layered red and black fruit, cedar and iron scents—complex and engaging, though there is a touch of oak still to be assimilated. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe, saturated tannins. Satin-textured, seamless and very precise with an irresistible, youthful, sensual finish, this is a brilliant wine that needs a few years in bottle (if you can resist). 

Alexandre Ma

98

byAlexandre Mathe4/18/2023

Wine Advocate

97

byWilliam Kelleythe4/6/2023

A blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, the 2020 L'Eglise Clinet wafts from the glass with aromas of dark berries, mulberries, cherries and cassis mingled with notions of espresso roast, loamy soil, violets and truffle framed by creamy new oak. Full-bodied, layered and concentrated, it's a rich, youthfully firm, muscularly constructed young Pomerol that will richly reward bottle age.

Jeb DUNNUCK

97

byJeb Dunnuckthe3/30/2023

There's a clear jump from the second wine to the 2020 Château L'Eglise Clinet, a riveting Pomerol that checks in as 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc that spent 18 months in 80% new French oak. Offering a restrained, yet concentrated, structured style, it reveals classic notes of red and black currants, leafy tobacco, loamy earth, and chocolate. This carries to a full-bodied, powerful, tannic 2020 that needs a solid 7-8 years of bottle age. It's going to be long-lived but is not for those seeking instant gratification.

The Wine Cellar Insider

99

byJeff Levethe3/22/2023

A clear candidate for wine of the vintage, this show stopping gem kicks off with a vivid perfume packed with flowers, plums, truffles, chocolate, smoke, cigar wrapper, and cherry liqueur scents. The wine delivers intensity, finesse, concentration, richness, purity and complexity. The finish, with its layers of dark chocolate covered ripe plums, velvety textures, and sensuality is completely seamless, holding your palate hostage for at least 60 seconds. Give it some time and this could easily hit 100 Pts down the road, it is that good. Drink from 2027-2060.

Alexandre Ma

98

byAlexandre Mathe3/15/2023

Vinous

98

byAntonio Gallonithe2/24/2023

The 2020 L'Eglise-Clinet is a wine of pure and total sophistication. Dark and racy, with remarkable depth, the 2020 is so exceptionally polished. The 2020 is not a huge Eglise-Clinet, but rather a wine that speaks in a soft, gentle voice. I love its elegance and refinement. All the 2020 needs is time in bottle to be fully expressive, as it is quite embryonic today. Look for this to be a brilliant Pomerol in another handful of years.

Vinous

98

byNeal Martinthe2/15/2023

The 2020 L'Eglise-Clinet takes time to open up in the glass, so I afford it 15-20 minutes to aerate. It's definitely worth a bit of patience. It delivers exquisite, ineffably pure aromas of black fruit, pressed violet, hints of marmalade and truffle. Amazing focus and precision. The palate is medium-bodied with finely-chiseled tannins, crisp and taut, just a very slight creaminess in terms of texture towards the second half with a long, peppery tail on the aftertaste. This is a quite fabulous Pomerol that will give 20+ years of drinking pleasure. Noemie Durantou feels this has more depth than the 2019 and she may well be right…

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

97

byJane Ansonthe1/16/2023

So much depth, character and density. Hugely rich in its dark damson, bilberry and chocolate character, sliced off pieces of dark slate, pummice stone and crushed rock. Hard not to smile at the pleasure contained in this bottle. It is both very much rooted in Pomerol and yet not at all Pomerol, both brooding and fabulous. Secure your bottle. 50% new oak, harvest September 9 to 16.

Vinous

96-98

byAntonio Gallonithe6/1/2021

The 2020 L'Eglise-Clinet is a towering wine. I am not sure what else to say. After having tasted hundreds of 2020s, L'Eglise-Clinet very clearly claims a stake for itself among the wines of the vintage. L'Eglise-Clinet can be a brute in its youth, but the 2020 is all finesse. Sweet red/purplish fruit, rose petal, blood orange and pomegranate are some of the nuances that emerge over time. Perhaps keeping the temperatures a bit cooler in fermentation explains the extraordinary finesse here. The 2020 simply can't be denied.

Jeb DUNNUCK

96-98

byJeb Dunnuckthe5/28/2021

Always up with the crème de la crème of the vintage, the 2020 Château L'Eglise Clinet is no exception. It boasts a rich, powerful, opulent style that packs loads of ripe black cherries as well as notes of chocolate, earth, tobacco, and graphite. Possessing the pure, elegant, more focused style of the vintage, it still has plenty of mid-palate depth, gorgeous tannins, and one heck of a great finish. This beauty is a thrill a minute and will not hit maturity for another 7-8 years, but it will be a 20-year wine.

Vinous

96-98

byNeal Martinthe5/27/2021

The 2020 l’Eglise-Clinet is very deep in color. It has an intense nose featuring blackberry, wild strawberry, touches of Japanese nori and light basalt aromas, gaining in intensity and clarity over the 60 minutes I spent analyzing the sample. The palate has exquisite balance and a silver bead of acidity that slices through the pure black fruit with effortless ease. This is a very harmonious and focused L’Eglise-Clinet, and as always, it is not an immediately crowd-pleasing Pomerol. You have to sit with it and examine its facets, including those that require unlocking with aeration. There is wonderful salinity on the finish, and awe-inspiring persistence. A magnificent testament to a great winemaker.

Decanter.com

96

byJane Ansonthe5/25/2021

Noémie Durantou has taken over from her late father Denis with this vintage, and has produced a L'Eglise Clinet that is dark ruby in colour, and needs time in the glass as it is built and muscular. You need a little patience for the cassis, bilberry and raspberry fruits to arrange, enjoy instead the silky, velvety texture that stops the tannins being too restrictive and allows the palate to slowly expand. Not as expressive as in some vintages, but still exudes quiet confidence. A yield of 42hl/ha. Harvest from September 8.

The Wine Cellar Insider

98-100

byJeff Levethe5/21/2021

Everything you would expect from L'Eglise Clinet is here in spades. The nose shoots from the glass with its truffle, spicy plum, wet earth, herb, smoke, tobacco, cocoa and cherry liqueur scents. Full-bodied, concentrated, focused and fresh, the wine perches on the border between opulence and classic. From a blend that mirrors the vineyard at 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, the wine packs layers of dark chocolate covered ripe plums that coat your palate, linger and expand. This will age gracefully for 3 decades easily. It is great to see so much continuity here from the Durantou family. 98-100

Wine Advocate

97-99

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe5/20/2021

The 2020 L'Eglise Clinet is a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. The Merlot was picked between the 11th and the 14th of September, and the Cabernet Franc was picked on the 16th of September. It has an alcohol of 14.4% and is aging in French oak barrels, 80% new. Displaying and opaque purple-black color, it needs a bit of swirling to reveal a fascinating array of earthy notes—black truffles, charcoal, mossy tree bark and fallen leaves—over a profound core of preserved plums, blackberry preserves and violets, with a waft of tapenade. The medium to full-bodied palate has exquisitely ripe tannins and bold freshness supporting the seductively ripe, black fruit layers, finishing on a lingering fragrant earth note.

Anthocyanes

96-98

byYohan Castaingthe5/11/2021

Notes boisées délicates, florales et fruits noirs frais. Arômes de cassis, de mure, de violette avec une pointe iris et graphite. Quelle fraicheur complexe ! Bouche charnue, pleine, structurante à souhait avec une allonge remarquable et un équilibre superbe. Aérien et délicat. Un L'Église-Clinet superbe avec une finale aérienne et fraiche. Tout simplement admirable. Pour une longue garde.

Bernard Burtschy

97-98

byBernard Burtschythe5/10/2021

Falstaff

96-98

byPeter Moserthe5/10/2021

Floral, Traubenzucker, Kirschkem, auch Cocktailkirsche. Floral. Im Mund cremig, très souple, saftig, sehr rund, ganz feines Tannin, das dennoch Kontur hat, dazu eine auf natürliche Weise integrierte Säure, lange homgen bleibende, klare und frische Abgangsfrucht. Zum Kauen, Aber dies im weichen Sinn. Schokoladiger Abklang mit Länge, begleitet von mineralischer Kraft. Ein Wein voller Fülle, Feinheit und uner- zwungener Harmonie.

My Bettane + Desseauve

96-97

by Bettane & Desseauvethe5/7/2021

Jamessuckling.com

98-99

byJames Sucklingthe4/25/2021

Wonderfully bright, floral aromas with so much violet character. Such purity and focus. Ethereal on the nose already. Full-bodied, but very polished and deep with finesse and beauty. Incredible structure that fills the mouth.