Eglise Clinet - Pomerol 2014

Vinous

94

par Neal Martin le 02/04/2024

The 2014 L'Eglise-Clinet has a lovely nose that is superior to other Pomerols in this flight. It's fresher with more vigor and scents of wild strawberry, cranberry, licorice and cedar. It gains delineation in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, superbly structured and a little savory (more so than four years ago). There's a little toughness on the finish, but not aggressive. It is a quintessential wine from the late Denis Durantou with a long future ahead. A second bottle tasted blind just felt a tad drier on the finish.

Vinous

95

par Neal Martin le 28/03/2018

The 2014 L’Eglise-Clinet has a gentle, understated bouquet at first that takes time to open, eventually offering black fruit, melted tar, truffle and bay leaf aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin, rather masculine and thickset at the moment, lightly spiced towards the finish. Much like the Vieux-Château-Certan, this is a little awkward in a blind setting however, it clearly meliorates in the glass and I keep on having to up my score. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

Jamessuckling.com

97

par James Suckling le 16/02/2017

The purity of fruit is so alluring in this wine. Aromas of crushed berries, lemon rind and flowers follow through to a full body, firm and silky tannins and a long and flavorful finish. All in finesse and texture. So fine and persistent. Try in 2022 but already an inspiration to taste.

Wine Spectator

94

par James Molesworth le 11/01/2017

This has a big ball of raspberry confiture at the core, with dark licorice and warm fruitcake notes. Hedonistic only to a point, as a serious graphite beam runs throughout, giving this serious drive through the finish. This will keep pace with the top dogs in this vintage. Best from 2020 through 2035.— J.M.

Vinous

94-97

par Antonio Galloni le 11/05/2015

The 2014 L'Eglise Clinet is a real head-turner. Gorgeous, super-expressive aromatics meld into a core of dark, sumptuous fruit. Lavender, mint, violets, graphite and crème de cassis notes abound in a powerful, structured wine endowed with magnificent purity and a skyscraper-like sense of lift. Finesse and power collide in a crystalline Pomerol of exceptional beauty. Powerful and dense to the core, the 2014 is shaping up to be one of the wines of the vintage. The blend is 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc.

The Wine Cellar Insider

95-96

par Jeff Leve le 05/05/2015

Truffle, blackberry, espresso and violet aromas ready your senses for more. Lush black cherry, boysenberry liqueur and licorice saturate this bright, fresh, vibrant wine. Concentrated, structured and long, leaving you with a supple, fresh, plumy finish, this wine will need time in the cellar before it reveals its true essence. Blending 90% Merlot with 10% Cabernet Franc, the wine reached 14% alcohol with a pH of 3.61 and will be aged in 70% new, French oak barrels. 95-96 Pts

Wine Advocate

93-95

par Neal Martin le 30/04/2015

The Château l’Eglise-Clinet 2014 is a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc picked from 26 September to 4 October and 17 to 21 October respectively and matured in 70% new oak. I tasted the wine from two barrels à la Burgundy with Denis Durantou. It has a gorgeous bouquet that boasts exquisite precision. It is not an intense nose but one that unfurls in the glass, revealing red berries, myrtle and more mineralité than probably any other Pomerol ’14 that I tasted from barrel. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannin. This is utterly harmonious, the Cabernet Franc more expressive than the 10% would suggest with a long, sophisticated finish whose cousin might be say, Vieux-Château-Certan. This continues a run of outstanding vintages from Denis Durantou and should offer 20+ years of drinking enjoyment.

Asian Palate

93-94

par Jeannie Cho Lee MW le 20/04/2015

A gorgeous wine with depth and complexity - layers of black fruits combine with savory spices and violets. This wine has both a beautiful texture and balance with great freshness. Mostly Merlot with 10% Cabernet Franc. Only 18,000 bottles produced.

Decanter.com

18

par James Lawther MW le 17/04/2015

Classic blend of 90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc. Another fine effort from Denis Durantou. Nose pure and racy with cherry, dark fruit and spice notes. Palate ripe, full and textured with a lovely grain of tannin behind. Fresh and persistent on the finish. Drink: 2020-2035 (93)

Jancis Robinson

17

par Jancis Robinson le 14/04/2015

90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 70% new oak. Picked 26 September to 4 October. 18,000 bottles. Very dark crimson. Very rich and perfumed. Sweet and polished but perhaps with a little less earthiness and fire than usual. Big and bold. And a little drying on the end.  14%Drink 2023-2037

Jamessuckling.com

94-95

par James Suckling le 10/04/2015

A wonderful wine with dense and intense fruit and chewy tannins. Full body, coffee, chocolate, almond and walnuts. Layered. Magic winemaker of Pomerol.

timatkin.com

96

par Tim Atkin MW le 07/04/2015

René Gabriel

18

par René Gabriel le 01/04/2015

90 % Merlot, 10 % Cabernet. Eigentlich ist da mehr Cabernet Franc wie Cabernet Sauvignon drin aber ganz genau wollte Denis Durantou es mir beim Primeur nicht mitteilen. Die Produktion liegt bei 18'000 Flaschen. Das Bouquet ist beeindruckend, voll von Himbeeren, Granatapfelkernen, Rosenpfeffer und Früchten. Letztere wirken aber nicht marmeladig, sondern grad wie just gepflückt. Mit jedem neuen Kontakt kommt da mehr raus. Vor allem spürt man auch eine ganz deutliche Konzentration, welche sich bis zur Nasentiefe durch zieht. Im Gaumen dicht, wiederdramatisch konzentriert, pfeffrig mit Aromen von Ingwer,Koriandermehl und weiteren fernöstlichen Gewürzen,welche sich nur im Untergrund ganz nuanciert zeigen. ImFinale fehlt dann genau jener Druck, welche ich mir - aufgrund der versprechenden Aromatik - gewünschthätte. Meine Frage ist auch, wie sich die im seitlichenWangenraum festgestellten Tannine mit dem weiteren Ausbau verhalten. Mir kam die Gerbstoffkonzentration inder Adstringenz so vor, als würde jemand mit einemSchraubstock von der Seite her die Schraube anziehen. Sonst kann man fast von einer modernen Reinkarnation vom phänomenalen Jahrgang 1985 sprechen. Natürlich ineiner heutigen Vinifikationsform. Damals gab es nämlich keine einzig neue Barrique. Heute ist der Holzpark à jour und dieser versprechende 2014er wird in 70 % neuem Holz ausgebaut. 18/20 2025 – 2050

Wine Spectator

92-95

par James Molesworth le 30/03/2015

Very refined, with alluring raspberry, plum and boysenberry fruit, inlaid with fine-grained structure and backed by a longrooibos tea- and fruitcake-infused finish. Latent grip lurks in the background.