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Bordeaux 2017: Eglise Clinet, VCC, Cheval Blanc...
19th June 2018.
We now have one of the most eagerly awaited releases of 2017 with Chateau L'Eglise Clinet, a strong contender for wine of the vintage. This is a fabulous wine that really stood out from the crowd in our tastings this year and unsurprisingly receives a host of outstanding scores across the board with Neal Martin rating it equal with Lafleur (95-97), and notably higher than Petrus (94-96) and Le Pin (93-95).
Denis Durantou feels it is comparable in quality to the exceptional 2015 (£2250 per 12) and 2016 (£2740). This is one of the great wines of Pomerol yet again and is available at £2064 per 12, a fraction of the price of its famous neighbours.
With only around 1000 cases made we expect this to sell out quickly. In Denis' words "just enough bottles for my friends".
"one of the most polished, sensual wines... What a gorgeous wine it is." 94-97 Galloni
"completes a triumvirate for Denis Durantou after the 2015 and 2016" 95-97 Neal Martin
"epic persistence and bags of energy. This will be extremely long lived!" 96-98+ WA
"Long, long finish. Impressive all the way." 97-98 James Suckling
The "Excellent" second label La Petite Eglise (90-92 NM) is released at £330 per 12 and will "compete quite favorably with many Grand Vins" according to Antonio Galloni (90-93). Only made in very small quantities (just over 600 cases this year), this is an exceptional value Pomerol that will drink well for a couple of decades.
It is also well worth considering the outstanding value offered by Denis Durantou's other right bank releases this year - the best value wines in all of Bordeaux and thoroughly deserving of a place in any cellar.
Saintayme at £130 per 12- "lovely depth to the succulent red cherry and plum fruit" 89-92 AG
Chenade at £145 per 12 - "a strong showing" 89-91 AG
Montlandrie at £175 per 12 - "Denis Durantou described this as one of his favorite wines of 2017 and I can understand why" 91-92 NM
Cruzelles at £200 per 12 - "Excellent" 90-92 NM
Vieux Chateau Certan is one of the highlights of any en primeur campaign and the 2017 is no exception; "A wine of exceptional balance and purity, the 2017 dazzles from start to finish" 96-98 Antonio Galloni. This classy Pomerol is always in high demand and quantities are 15% down this year.
Finally we have Cheval Blanc released at £5300 per 12. 97-98 JS "Wow".
Pomerol
£2064 per 12 btl / £1032 per 6
95-97 Neal Martin "extraordinarily pure with blackberry, wild strawberry, smoke and truffle. It just gets better and better as it opens in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, linear and focused, very fresh with pointed acidity. This is full of tension and poise, a touch of graphite emerging towards the finish that lingers in the mouth with superb salinité at the end. It completes a triumvirate for Denis Durantou after the 2015 and 2016s."
96-98+ Wine Advocate "opens with crème de cassis, black forest cake and preserved plums notes with suggestions of underbrush, lilacs and star anise plus an invigorating spark of Bing cherries. Medium to full-bodied and built like a brick house with very firm, ripe tannins and very refreshing acidity supporting the tightly wound muscular fruit, it finishes with epic persistence and bags of energy. This will be extremely long lived!"
£330 per 12 btl / £165 per 6
90-93 Antonio Galloni "wonderfully aromatic and dense. Charcoal embers, game, smoke, licorice and raspberry jam all develop in the glass, but it is the wine's structural feel that stands out most. The 2017 is silky, nuanced and exceptionally beautiful. La Petite Eglise is of course the second wine of L'Eglise Clinet, but if it were taken out of that context, it would compete quite favorably with many Grand Vins."
90-92 Neal Martin "more red fruit than black, hints of freshly tilled soil and pencil shavings. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, a touch more compact than previous vintages but beautifully focused and silky smooth towards the sustained finish. Excellent."
£2064 per 12 btl / £1032 per 6
95-98 Antonio Galloni "The 2017 Vieux Château Certan is a rapturously beautiful wine. Dark, sumptuous and seamless in the glass, the 2017 is going to tempt readers early... A wine of exceptional balance and purity, the 2017 dazzles from start to finish. There is an element of tension in the 2017 that is incredibly appealing. "We are back to Bordeaux," adds Alexandre Thienpont in reference to the personality of the year as compared to both 2016 and 2015."
96-98 Wine Advocate "gorgeous black raspberries, crushed black currants and warm black berries on the nose with chocolate-covered cherries, violets and star anise suggestions plus black truffles and wood smoke. The palate is medium to full-bodied with wonderful concentration in the mid-palate and firm, very finely pixelated tannins, with seamless freshness and fantastic length."
St Emilion
£5300 per 12 btl / £2650 per 6
97-98 James Suckling "This is tight and very tannic with a linear and steely backbone of texture. Full-bodied, compacted and complete. Muscular and flexing it but polished and toned. Wow... Very, very long. Very Left Bank in terms of the power and depth."
96 Decanter "A sense of forward motion here makes you smile - a reaction that's missing in many wines this year. The tannins push their way right through the palate, but cradle the cassis and bilberry fruit rather than smother it, helped by the fact that floral and smoky aromatics rise up. There's good persistency and you get that little kick and dance of minerality. The precision engineering is clear, but the overall feeling is simply of cohesion and enjoyment."
Please enquire, order online or contact us at sales@albanyvintners.com.
En Primeur wines, offered lying In Bond in the UK Summer 2020.
Wines may be ordered in special sizes for a small supplement (6x150cl Magnums, 1x300cl double magnum, 3x300cl double magnums, 1x600cl imperial) . Please enquire for details.
Sweet wines may be ordered in half-bottles (case of 12x37.5 or case of 24x37.5) at no extra cost.