Eglise Clinet - Pomerol 2022

Alexandre Ma

98

byAlexandre Mathe3/10/2025

In the face of the harsh 2022 heatwave, Château L’Église Clinet chose to rise to the challenge, maintaining its clarity in an almost hellish environment. Even when the grapes shrank to an unbelievable size, the estate remained committed to preserving the precious acidity. As a result, this Pomerol,dark as ink and rich as honey, the clear acidity and tea-like freshness blend seamlessly, while the violet fragrance also carries a profound sense of energy beneath it. This is not only a natural gift from the gravelly clay soils but also a true reflection of the winemaker’s determination. Thanks to their tireless dedication, the 2022 vintage has bloomed into such a magnificent masterpiece, and it is only fitting that we salute it.

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

98

byJane Ansonthe3/7/2025

This is a wine that needs time in the bottle and in the glass, serious and well built, with body and character, and merits extra ageing. The texture brings us into the heart of Pomerol, or rather its heights, with luscious but reserved quality and the intellectual edge of L'Eglise Clinet. Crushed roses and violets set against dark cassis and blueberry fruits, just brilliant. Harvest September 3 to 9 harvest. 85% new oak, harvest September 3 to 9. Noemie Durantou and Olivier Gautrat.

The Wine Cellar Insider

100

byJeff Levethe3/4/2025

L'Eglise-Clinet, Château

Jeb DUNNUCK

98

byJeb Dunnuckthe2/28/2025

Lastly, the 2022 Château L'Eglise Clinet is 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc that was harvested from the 3rd to the 9th of September, with its élevage spanning just 12 months in 85% new French oak followed by roughly four months in tank before bottling. It's another riveting 2022 in the vintage that brings remarkable depth and intensity while at the same time staying light on its feet, graceful, and balanced. Ripe black cherries, cassis, graphite, leafy tobacco, and damp earth and floral notes all shine here, and it's full-bodied, has a concentrated, powerful mouthfeel, ripe and perfectly polished tannins, and a great finish. It deserves 7-8 years of bottle age and will have 30-40 years of prime drinking. It will probably merit a perfect rating at maturity, and if this doesn’t put a smile on your face, nothing will.

Yvesbeck.wine

100

byYves Beckthe2/25/2025

La finesse et la profondeur forment un fil rouge qui crée le risque de se répéter en 2022. Quoique répéter des louanges n'est pas vraiment un risque en soi. Les notes de myrtilles, la sucrosité, la densité ainsi que la profondeur agissent avec brio. Fin et suave, le vin suit une trajectoire claire, puissante, élégante, attentionnée et détaillée. En bouche, Eglise Clinet ne cherche pas les compromis. Le vin a pour seul objectif l’envie de convaincre en entraînant avec lui les énergies positives que l'on a su lui transmettre. Un vin d'une rare puissance, d'une clarté indescriptible, avec toute cette magie qu'il a en lui. C'est un vin touchant, émouvant, puissant. 2029-2057 100/100

Vinous

99

byNeal Martinthe2/12/2025

Nöemie Durantou remarked that this vintage is the best she had ever known with respect to the Merlot, and given that the 2022 L'Eglise-Clinet contains 90% Merlot, that pre-empted a fabulous Pomerol. Durantou also mentioned that her wines were a little more "shy" compared to the previous day, though the bouquet only needed four or five minutes' coaxing before it unfolded with wonderfully delineated, focused scents of black cherries, peony, blood orange and crushed stone. Exquisitely balanced, the palate has a cashmere texture thanks to the pliant tannins, gaining density all the time. The finish is powerful and very sustained, disguising the 14.6% alcohol extremely well thanks to its countervailing acidic spine, though you feel a dab on the aftertaste. The 2022 is a L'Eglise-Clinet built for the long-term and continues the estate's stunning run of form.

Jamessuckling.com

100

byJames Sucklingthe2/3/2025

Wonderful aromas of crushed violets and wisteria as well as black-truffle undertones and blueberries. Medium- to full-bodied, this has a beautiful center palate and an endless finish. It’s so polished and refined with breathtaking length that caresses every inch of the finish. A masterpiece for the vintage. 90% merlot and 10% cabernet franc. Try after 2030 and beyond.

Vinous

98

byAntonio Gallonithe1/28/2025

The 2022 L'Eglise-Clinet is every bit as magnificent as it was en primeur. Deep, intensely aromatic and soaring in its intensity, the 2022 has it all. Inky red-toned fruit, cedar, tobacco, dried flowers, new leather and a kiss of French oak infuse the 2022 with tremendous depth and complexity. The blend is 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. This is pure and total sensuality. What a wine!

Decanter.com

97

byGeorgina Hindlethe5/25/2023

A delicious take on the vintage with power and seduction delivered delicately with purity and refinement. Gorgeous florality and aromatic expression on the nose combining fruity blackcurrants and violets with sweet milk chocolate, salted caramel and liquorice. Juicy and succulent on the palate, supple with well integrated tannins that support the concentrated fruit but also deliver coolness and freshness throughout. Not dense at all but still a generous weight with direction and focus. Graceful and characterful, not pushed but delivering everything you want with minerality also at the fore. Already so approachable too, it’s a wine I wanted to drink and finish in situ. A yield of 32hl/ha. Aged in 60% new oak barrels. Harvest 31 August - 7 September.

Alexandre Ma

97-99

byAlexandre Mathe5/17/2023

Face the extreme weather of 2022, Château L'Église Clinet chose to persevere, maintaining a sense of "clarity". Despite the grape berries being astonishingly small, the precious acidity was not sacrificed. As a result, in this inky, intense Pomerol, I discover not only a translucent acidity but also a refreshing reminiscent of red tea. This wine is both a gift of the gravel-clay terroir and a testament to the winemaker's spirit. Their tireless efforts in the vineyard have crafted the dazzling splendor of 2022.

Vinous

98-100

byNeal Martinthe5/17/2023

The 2022 L'Eglise-Clinet was picked from 3 to 9 September for the Merlot and the Cabernet Franc on 5 and 9 September, matured in 85% new oak. It has an exquisitely-defined bouquet with succinct floral, pressed iris and clay notes percolating through the black fruit. With breathtaking focus, these scents seem to cast a spell over you. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly chalky tannins that frame the mineral-laden, peppery black fruit. There's not a hair out of place, exuding the essence of this Pomerol estate with an exceptionally long, intense and paradoxically tender finish. It's a wine that may leave you spellbound...just like this barrel sample.

The Vintage Journal

95-96

byAndrew Caillard MWthe5/17/2023

Deep crimson. Intense camomile, black cherry, plum. wood varnish, liquorice aromas with a touch of mint. Sweet black cherry, dark plum fruits, fine slinky firm tannins, and fresh aniseed fennel notes. Finishes bitter sweet with cedar notes. Very attractive young wine with plenty of potential. 90% Merlot 10% Cabernet Franc 14.6% alc

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

98

byJane Ansonthe5/16/2023

Turns the intensity and exoticism of the vintage on its head, unpacking it carefully, and layering up depth and character. Grilled cedar, fleshy damson and casis fruits, this is all about carefully-considered and delivered juice and flavour. Intense, with balance and carefully-extracted juice, and the precision that you want at L'Eglise Clinet, even in such an ovewheming vintage. 85% new oak, harvest September 3 to 9. Noemie Durantou and Olivier Gautrat.

matthewjukes.com

20

byMatthew Jukesthe5/15/2023

The Wine Independent

96-98

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe5/15/2023

A blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, with a pH of 3.6, L’Eglise Clinet 2022 was picked between the 3rd and 9th September and is aging in 85% new oak. It has a deep garnet-purple color and after a swirl or two, vivacious notes of crushed black plums, boysenberry preserves, and lilacs soar from the glass, followed by hints of menthol, wood smoke, crushed rocks, and sandalwood. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is electric, delivering energetic black fruit and mineral layers, with a firm, fine-grained texture and lovely tension, finishing long and earthy. Very seductive!

Yvesbeck.wine

98-100

byYves Beckthe5/10/2023

Que d'intensité et de pluralité dans le bouquet d'Eglise-Clinet ! Encore un 2022 qui se positionne d'entrée avec une évidente notion de haute voltige ! Superbes effluves de sureau et de mûres couplés à des notes de réglisse, avec finesse et pertinence. L'attaque se fait tout en douceur avec une séduisante sucrosité, rapidement relayée par une force tranquille qui se dessine le long du palais pour finalement souligner la finesse et la puissance de ses tannins. La structure acide agit en coulisses et soutient l’expression aromatique jusqu'en finale… et au-delà... tout en prenant soin de tenir tête à la structure tannique, pour finalement créer une symbiose ! Le vin est d'une rare longueur et d’une impressionnante intensité aromatique ! Quelle aptitude à briller autant au début et au milieu du palais puis en finale. Les arômes dansent littéralement sur la langue et font battre le cœur un peu plus vite. Un vin brillant, avec une performance linéaire, persistante, pertinente !

Bettane & Desseauve

97

by Bettane & Desseauvethe5/10/2023

90 % de merlot, 10 % de cabernet franc. Nez discret avec une touche de violette, la bouche déroule un tannin soyeux qui prend de l’intensité au fil de l’ouverture. Finale saline et florale montante de haut vol.

Jeb DUNNUCK

96-98

byJeb Dunnuckthe5/10/2023

Straight-up gorgeous, I'd put the 2022 Château L'Eglise-Clinet up with the top tier Pomerol in the vintage, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it surpass the 2020 as well. Ripe black cherries, violets, spring flowers, graphite, and tobacco all emerge on the nose, and it's medium to full-bodied, with a layered, elegant mouthfeel, beautiful tannins, and a great finish. Compared to the 2005 by owner Noëmie Durantou (who has done an incredible job taking over the estate after the loss of her father), this rich, concentrated, incredibly impressive Pomerol is going to need 7-8 years of bottle age but will evolve for 30 years in cold cellars. 96-98+

Vinous

96-98

byAntonio Gallonithe5/9/2023

The 2022 L'Eglise-Clinet is fabulous. Rich, deep and layered, with tremendous purity, the 2022 is already exceptionally well balanced. Dark fruit, gravel, licorice, dried herbs and lavender emerge, but only with great reluctance. Even so, there is something incredibly complete about the 2022 that is a bit hard to describe with words, but it is most definitely there! L'Eglise-Clinet is shaping up to be one of the wines of the vintage on the Right Bank. Drinking window : 2030-2052

The Wine Cellar Insider

98-100

byJeff Levethe5/5/2023

Very floral in its perfume, you also find notes of dark, and milk chocolate, mint, cherry liqueur, plums, and a background touch of espresso. However, it is on the palate where you enjoy the wine at its best. Texturally, this is silk and velvet. There are no hard edges. The fruits are so pure, they taste as if they were just picked from the vineyard. The finish is seamless, moving through its beginning, middle, and end, effortlessly. The sensuous finish sees the 60 second mark and keeps right on going. From a blend of 90% Merlot with 10% Cabernet Franc, 14.60% ABV, 3.6 pH. The harvest took place September 3 - September 9. This is the earliest harvest in the history of the estate. It is great to see continuing strong wines from the Durantou family. Drink from 2027-2060.

Jamessuckling.com

97-98

byJames Sucklingthe4/19/2023

A L’Eglise Clinet with tension and class, with dark berries and chalk, salt and spice. There’s hazelnut and ripe seeds with coffee bean undertones. Full and wonderfully long and fresh.