2019 Château Clinet
Buying options
Tasting notes
Cloves, saffron, turmeric, this goes long on spicy cloves and red pepper, with cinammon and cocoa bean. All this alongside plenty of luscious dark fruits, blackcurrant and bilberry, giving juice and balanc. This is well structued, with clear life ahead, heavy on the spice right now. 75% new oak. Ronan Laborde owner. 38hl/ha yield
Critic scores
James Suckling
Decanter
More reviews and scores
The 2019 Clinet has quite a focused, graphite tinged, Cabernet Franc driven nose that offers fine complexity. The palate is medium-bodied with fine acidity, though it just loses a little refinement towards the finish. Fine sapidity, but it needs more length and precision overall. I've encountered better examples - this Pomerol might well be closing down. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.
Tasted blind. Just a little earthbound and lacking vitality after wine number 8 (Ch Hosanna). Solid and not flawed but needs a bit of zip. (JR)
The 2019 Château Clinet is brilliant stuff and another classic Pomerol from the talented Ronan Laborde. Deep purple-hued, with awesome notes of crème de cassis, mulberries, tobacco leaf, chocolate, and damp earth, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a round, seamless mouthfeel, and gorgeous tannins. It delivers that rare mix of elegance and sexiness that only Pomerol can. It needed plenty of air to show at its best and needs a good 4-6 years of bottle age, but it's going to evolve for 20-25 years or more. I love everything about this wine, and it's certainly in the same ballpark as the 2015, 2016, and 2018. And it remains incredibly well-priced given the quality. Don’t miss it.
About the producer
With Ronan Laborde at the helm, this property has become one of Pomerol’s most sought-after. He has increased the proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon, which historically represented half the vineyard area here.