The 2019 Clinet has maintained the stunning delineation that I discerned from the barrel sample. Pure black cherries, hints of cassis and wilted violet scents unfold in the glass with effortless ease, and the oak (75% new, 25% used for 18 months) is neatly integrated. The poised palate is medium-bodied, taut and fresh, with fine-grained tannins and disarming mineralité, particularly toward the finish, which delivers tremendous length and saliva-inducing salinity on the aftertaste. There is a pleasing strictness to this Clinet that is apposite to the flamboyant and decadent wines of the Nineties. This Clinet is one of Ronan Laborde's great achievements.

A full-bodied Pomerol with dark-fruit, coconut, chocolate and hazelnut character on both the nose and palate. Fine-tannined with an intensely tight and chewy texture. Spice at the end. Very flavorful and muscular, yet it’s balanced and precise with well-toned form. Needs five or six years to resolve. Try after 2027.

The 2019 Château Clinet is brilliant stuff and another classic Pomerol from the talented Ronan Laborde. Deep purple-hued, with awesome notes of crème de cassis, mulberries, tobacco leaf, chocolate, and damp earth, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a round, seamless mouthfeel, and gorgeous tannins. It delivers that rare mix of elegance and sexiness that only Pomerol can. It needed plenty of air to show at its best and needs a good 4-6 years of bottle age, but it's going to evolve for 20-25 years or more. I love everything about this wine, and it's certainly in the same ballpark as the 2015, 2016, and 2018. And it remains incredibly well-priced given the quality. Don’t miss it.

The 2019 Clinet is showing beautifully in bottle, wafting from the glass with aromas of plums, cherries and berries mingled with hints of violets, licorice, subtle spices and smoke. Full-bodied, sensual and velvety, it's seamless and vibrant, with lively acids, ripe tannins and a long, resonant finish. This precise, concentrated wine is the finest young Clinet I've ever tasted, and it exemplifies the tremendous progress that Ronan Laborde has made at this estate over the last decade.

Pomerol is something special in 2019 and Clinet captures the magic beautifully. Perfectly balancing the creaminess, both on the nose and palate, that is so characteristic of the vintage with the ripe intensity of fruit and remarkable zesty freshness, it's both enticing and sophsiticated, Layers of pure black cherry and plum vie with blood orange, truffle and asian spice make the nose sing. The tannins hide among the sappy, dense, concentrated fruit that is both mouthcoating and yet nimble, with a purity and energy that lifts any sense of heaviness. Another dancer of a wine that you simply don't want to end... which is a good thing as the finish is a good minute plus. Just superb.
June 2020

Cloves, saffron, turmeric, this goes long on spicy cloves and red pepper, with cinammon and cocoa bean. All this alongside plenty of luscious dark fruits, blackcurrant and bilberry, giving juice and balanc. This is well structued, with clear life ahead, heavy on the spice right now. 75% new oak. Ronan Laborde owner. 38hl/ha yield

A very fine Pomerol with dark, intense, inky black fruit on the palate. Purity and precision evident here with acidity and a mineral thread providing freshness to balance the plush, ripe-fruit textures. Clinet continues to be a Right Bank wine which manages the fine line between weight, ripeness, concentration and elegance. Relatively early-drinking in the context of 2019.

80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. Barrel sample. Purple-black hue. Concentrated cassis aroma, almost like a fruit liqueur. Palate more subdued but the fruit is generous and there’s plenty of zest and drive. Tannins and oak integrated. Clean, long finish. (JL)

80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. Dark, glowing, blackish garnet. Interesting nose that is more mineral (linseed oil?) than fruity. Round and sweet with intense fruit that almost distracts from the tannin. Polished and plush. Quite seductive! But the opposite of savoury… (JR)