Since 1983 the late, highly lauded owner-winemaker Denis Durantou had overseen L’Eglise-Clinet’s rise to prominence.
‘La Petite Eglise’ is Denis Durantou’s “”second wine”” and a serious Pomerol in its own right, but at a fraction of the price of Eglise Clinet. Since its debut in 2004, this has always been a 100% Merlot cuvée and has come from fruit harvested on sandier soils. However in 2018, a lot of the Merlot vines were dug up and 20% Cabernet Franc from the young vines of Eglise Clinet have been added to the blend.
Tasting Notes
Colour: Dark ruby ​​garnet, youthful reflections with purple rim.
Nose: Ripe cherry on the nose, some dried fruit, baked blackberry in a chocolate stew, warming the nose of mocha plum, slight oak with light earthy mineral.
Palate: Very finesse on the palate, almost Burgundian finesse, mineral rigor, very good length, has some storage potential, surpasses many of the first wines.
Grape Varieties: 100% Merlot
History of Chateau L’Eglise-Clinet
Château L’Église-Clinet is a small, critically acclaimed producer in the Pomerol appellation of Bordeaux. Over recent vintages its average scores from critics have been some of the very highest in the region, and auction prices very much reflect this acclaim.
Its 4.2 hectares (10 acres) of vines produce around 1500 cases of wine per year. The vineyard has some of the highest concentrations of old vines in Pomerol.
Merlot accounts for 85 percent of plantings, with 15 percent Cabernet Franc, although more recent vintages of the wines have a smaller percentage of the latter. Indeed, the blend is roughly 90-10 in favor of Merlot. The wine is typically aged in 80 percent new oak.
The estate was formed in the 1950s from vineyard parcels which were originally part of Clos L’Église and Château Clinet.
