2020 Château L'Eglise-Clinet

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.

- Neal Martin (01/2024)

A linear and transparent red with violets and dark fruits with sliced tangerines. Full- to medium-bodied with firm and racy tannins. Brightness and energy. Hints of chocolate and malted milk. Lovely purity to it. Drink after 2026 and onwards. (05/2023)

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. (03/2023)

The 2020 L'Eglise-Client, made from 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, is deep garnet-purple in color. It opens with wonderfully fragrant notes of violets, dark chocolate, aniseed, and forest floor, leading to a core of preserved plums and black cherry preserves, plus a touch of cast-iron pan. The medium to full-bodied palate explodes with tons of juicy black fruit layers, supported by velvety tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long with a whole array of baking spice, black berry, and minerally accents. (03/2023)