@Jeff_Leve I hope it is ok to quote excerpts from your review of L’Eglise Clinet. I was wondering which one of the two would be slightly lighter on its feet. Don’t have any L’Eglise Clinet in my cellar and trying to decide on which one of these to get (can only get One ).
2019:
“Incredibly concentrated, rich, ostentations, silky and vibrant, the wine offers incredible purity to the fruit, which is a good thing because the finish is not something you want to lose sight of, as its showy display of chocolate-tinged, dark red fruits, licorice, spice, and black cherries lingers, builds and expands - Jeff”
2020:
A clear candidate for wine of the vintage, this show stopping gem kicks off with a vivid perfume packed with flowers, plums, truffles, chocolate, smoke, cigar wrapper, and cherry liqueur scents. The wine delivers intensity, finesse, concentration, richness, purity and complexity. The finish, with its layers of dark chocolate covered ripe plums, velvety textures, and sensuality is completely seamless, holding your palate hostage for at least 60 seconds - Jeff”
Do you subscribe to William Kelley/TWA? He recently gave 100pts to the 2012 which is still available at very reasonable prices + 8 years of bottle age.
Cool. Looks like the price jumped by 50% post WK’s reviews. It would be an interesting experiment to track the price and see where it settles post the initial reaction.
I love L’Eglise Clinet! It is one of the top wines in Bordeaux and one of the best Pomerol wines. If you have not read about the vineyard
L’Eglise Clinet is a rich style of Pomerol due to its deep clay soils. It is not a wine that’s light on its feet. 19 & 20 are cellar-worthy treasures. If you are opening one today, to see what the fuss is about, from current vintages 18 is more precocious. Else, look to 2009. 2001 is also a gem, but in a different style as that was a long time ago. 2000 & older are slightly harder-styled wines.
For cellaring, maybe 20 could have a small advantage, either are simply stunning wines, and worth the bank.
Count me as someone who has fallen hard for Brane Cantenac over the last few years. It has become one of my favorite Bordeaux. That said, I’d be cautious about drawing any conclusions from it being widely admired, as the appeal to me is that it is still in a very traditional and individualistic style that is not usually uniformly admired, and frankly is difficult to assess on release.
There has not been a significant change in winemaking style. There is a case to be made that the recent vintages might be better because they have focused their production on the core vineyard around the chateau. But if you drink the 2000 next to the 2020 I do not think you will find the former to consist of inferior material, and will likely find yourself remarking that you’ll be very happy if the 2020 turns out some day as good as the 2000 is now, and if it turns out even better that’s just gravy.
It also has shown very, very well young at UGCB, which may help “popularity” in recent vintages. The ones I tasted I would not call traditional, or modern, but would call it really terrific bordeaux!
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