From an estate purchased by Ausone in 2014, the 2018 Château La Clotte looks to be a sensational wine in the making, and I think it’s probably going to surpass both the 2015 and 2016. A blend of 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Cabernet Franc, this deeply colored Saint-Émilion offers a smoky, blackcurrant, black cherry, and graphite-driven bouquet. This carries to a medium to full-bodied red that has a stacked mid-palate, tons of ripe, sexy fruit, building tannins, and a great finish. It’s a brilliant Saint-Émilion that’s going to need short-term cellaring but will cruise in cool cellars for two decades or more. - jebdunnuck.com, May 2019

The 2018 La Clotte is made up of 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. Deep purple-black in color, it leaps from the glass with gregarious scents of crushed blueberries, Morello cherries and black raspberries with touches of oolong tea, violets, mocha and cigar box plus a waft of cedar. Full-bodied with a solid frame of fine-grained tannins and oodles of freshness, it is packed with vibrant black and blue fruits layers, finishing long with great purity.
- Lisa Perrotti-Brown, April 2019, The Wine Advocate

A tight and firm red with dark berries and wet earth. Medium-bodied, racy and bright. Shows tension and structure for the vintage. - jamessuckling.com, April 2019

The 2018 La Clotte is a blend of 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, it slips seductively out of the glass with spicy scents of powdered cinnamon, cloves and Sichuan pepper over a core of stewed plums, boysenberries and kirsch, plus a waft of menthol. The medium-bodied palate possesses impressive energy, featuring bags of ripe black and red berries flavors with a lively backbone and fine-grained texture, finishing on a lingering mineral note.

85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc. Barrel sample. Black core, purple rim. A touch of alcohol on the nose but the samples are a bit warm, which is highlighting the alcohol. Sweet, ripe and dark-fruited. Quite oaky even though there's so much depth of ripe fruit. Chewy, dense and powerful. Could do with a little more freshness. (JH)