Appellations

Clinet 2016

Pomerol

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Tasting Notes

The 2016 Clinet has a gorgeous bouquet of copious red berry fruit mixed with truffle and undergrowth scents, all fresh and vibrant. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and, like the L’Evangile that preceded it at this blind tasting, displays noticeable acidity. However, it is more knitted together than that wine, and it fans out wonderfully on a long, spicy, quite firm finish that prompted me to score lower than I might have done, because it remains a very fine Pomerol in the making.

Score: 94 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2024-2050 Date: 01 August 2020

The 2016 Clinet, a blend of 88% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, was cropped at 49hl/ha and matured in 70% new oak. It has a quintessential Pomerol bouquet of vibrant floral aromas, black cherries and hints of Christmas cake and truffle. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin and very harmonious and refined. The sample at the château showed a touch more backbone than the one at the London UGC tastings, offering plenty of blackberry and black olive notes and then turning saline toward the dense, muscular finish. A classy, sophisticated Clinet that will reward those with the nous to cellar it for several years. Outstanding.

Score: 96 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2020-2045 Date: 01 January 2019

The 2016 Clinet is a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon that was picked from 22 September for the young vines, the older vines picked 1 and 2 October, finishing with the Cabernet Sauvignon the following day. It was cropped at 49 hectoliters per hectare and matured in 70% new oak and the remainder in second-fill barrels. It has 14.15% alcohol and a record-breaking 94 IPT. It has a very linear bouquet, quite strict and intense with a light iodine and marine scent merging with the black fruit. This is a more "aristocratic" nose for Clinet, sophisticated and one of the most nuanced I have encountered. The palate is medium-bodied with filigree tannin that forms the foundation of a more masculine Clinet, complex and focused with a subtle spiciness coming through on the finish, which fans out with confidence and leaves a disarming, saline tang in the mouth. Yes, this is a magnificent Clinet, cool and mineral-soaked, both cerebral and lip-smackingly delicious.

Score: 96 - 98 Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2024-2055 Date: 28 April 2017

The 2016 Clinet offers an intriguing combination of power and finesse. Iron, smoke, red cherry jam, blood orange and leather all power through in this racy, sensual Pomerol. In some moments, Clinet is silky and nuanced, while at other times a darker, more brooding side comes through. The 2016 has so much to offer. I would prefer to cellar it for at least a few years.

Score: 94 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2024-2036 Date: 01 January 2019

A backward, brooding wine, the 2016 Clinet presents a distinctly dark expression of the appellation and vintage. Black fruit, smoke, licorice and heavy toast notes are front and center. Powerful, structured and dense in the glass, the 2016 is a Pomerol that makes its case with sheer intensity rather than finesse. There is not much subtlety here. If the 2016 comes together, and it may, it will merit an even more positive note.

Score: 92 - 95 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Date: 25 April 2017

The 2016 Clinet is composed of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. It was aged using the Oxoline system, in 70% new and 30% one-year-old barrels for 16 months. It has a deep garnet-purple color with cedar and smoked meats on the nose giving way to black and red plums and earthy notions with wafts of cassis and pencil shavings. The palate is medium to full-bodied, elegant, polished and vivacious with loads of red and black fruit layers and an earthy finish.

Score: 97 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2022-2052 Date: 30 November 2018

The colour on this is deep and inky and a blast of cassis and black cherry fruit greets you on the nose. It has undeniable oak impact, but also a lovely lift that carries right through the palate, and that incredible Clinet precision. A fantastic 2016, not as exuberant as 2015 but showing the quality of the vintage where even the big-shouldered wines have a stunning lift, and a feeling of an invisible gossamer curtain holding them in place. Not a hedonist's vintage like 2009 or 2015, but cerebral in the style of 2001 and 2010. Strong coffee and grilled caramel on the finish.

Score: 97 Decanter, - Maturity: 2027-2050 Date: 21 April 2017

90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Lovely quality of fresh forest fruits, quite complex with floral and spicy notes also. Creamy and full in the mouth, quite voluptuous with high but fine grained tannins leading to the long finish.

Score: 95 - 97 Albany Vintners, - Date: 19 April 2017

Blackish crimson. Headily sweet and gamey on the nose with dark, purple-fruit aromas and then this sample went dead on me on the palate. Sucked out the saliva. Very drying end. Awkward, stodgy finish. Not for me. Unripe phenolics.

Score: 16 Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com Maturity: 2024-2036 Date: 12 April 2017

Dark in profile, with plum, blackberry and black currant fruit melded together, while wood spice and bramble hints run along the edges. Plenty of depth and length here, with lively tobacco and tar notes on the finish. This fleshes out with air too. Impressive, in the richer style.

Score: 94 - 97 James Molesworth, Wine Spectator Date: 06 April 2017

The linear character to this is so impressive with beautiful blackberries and blueberries. Crushed stones and minerals. Medium to full body. Very pretty.

Score: 94 - 95 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com Date: 24 March 2017