The 2021 L'Eglise Clinet is one of the more muscular, powerful wines of the vintage, unwinding in the glass with aromas of dark berries, incense, licorice, spices and toasty new oak. Medium to full-bodied, with a broad attack that segues into a mid-palate framed by ripe, powdery, richly extracted tannins, it's a dense, youthfully introverted Pomerol that's defined more by its terroir and winemaking than it is by the vintage.      

97/98 JAMES SUCKLING

96 POINTS JANE ANSON

94 POINTS ROBERT PARKER

Denis Durantou made stunning, age-worthy wines here, from 1983 until his untimely death in 2020. Since the breakthrough 1985 vintage, L'Eglise Clinet has invariably matched or beaten all the top names of Pomerol in blind tastings at Southwold and elsewhere. Denis' right-hand man, Olivier Gautrat, had worked with him every day for over two decades and continues the Durantou wine-making philosophy.

Produced from 40 year old vines over 4.2 hectares, picked when ripe but never late. No fancy tricks, just old vines, great terroir and inspired, yet traditional, wine-making. As our blind tastings have proved over and over again, this is one of the top wines of the Pomerol appellation and a genuine rival of neighbours Pétrus and Lafleur.

Pairing Suggestions: Beef and Venison.

Maturation: 18 months maturation in French oak