The 2020 Château La Clotte comes from more limestone, terraced hillsides and is 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, vinified in concrete tanks and aged in new French oak. Cassis, ripe black cherries, toasted spice, and classy oak notes all emerge on the nose, and it's full-bodied, with beautiful concentration, building tannins, and a great finish. This beauty gains complexity with time in the glass and shows more tobacco, toasted nut, and damp earth. It’s another spectacular effort from this family.

The 2020 La Clotte exudes depth and is intensely packed with dark red cherry, plum and blood orange fruit. Today, La Clotte is incredibly primary, with terrific fruit density but less in the way of aromatic complexity. That’s probably a very good thing for its long-term prospects, but readers will have to be patient. It spent 18 months in 100% new French oak, and there is some oak that still needs to integrate.

Licorice, flowers, chocolate, black and blue fruits with crushed stones create the aromatic profile. The wine is fresh, lifted and packed with layers of perfectly ripe salty plums. The ocean-influenced theme continues all the way through to the long, expansive, leafy, spice-tinged finish. With its concentration, balance and elegance, this is the best vintage of La Clotte ever made. Prices have not yet caught up to the level of quality produced here. Drink from 2024-2050. Tasted March 2023

The 2020 La Clotte comes from a small 4-hectare estate, rapidly becoming one of the Vauthier family's most coveted crus. This is another in the canon of outstanding recent vintages. It offers a mixture of red and black fruit, pain d'épices and crushed stone, gaining complexity with aeration while remaining very cohesive. The palate is very harmonious with finely-chiseled tannins, a seam of graphite imparted by the 15% Cabernet Franc, beautifully focused and refined towards the finish. This is a very classy Saint-Émilion, one that will require time.

Tasted by Jane Anson(at Primeur week tastings in Bordeaux, 01 May 2021)

Anis, almond and marzipan on the nose. There is a subtle interplay of tannin and acidity, linear and direct, finishing up with a clementine and orange rind bitterness that also gives a sense of forward propulsion through the palate. Has definition and personality, and continues its improvements under the Ausone team. Moulin St Georges has more breadth, depth and texture through the palate - this has more of a limestone squeeze, giving plenty of choice depending on what you are looking for.

Drinking Window 2027 - 2045

(85% M, 15% CF; 100% new)
Fresh, dense, ripe red-fruit and gentle mineral impressions; moderately concentrated, fresh, delicately tannic, very nicely balanced, if a touch alcohol-warm; sweetly, freshly ripe, long and juicy to taste, St-Emilion pure and transparent, graceful, subtly complex, gently racy, and with lovely aromatic length. A refined, restrained, limestone-Côte wine, which wears its 100% new wood completely imperceptibly.
Six years after the Vauthier purchase and, after a long period of underperformance, surprisingly gorgeous. 2028–50+.

85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc. Cask sample.
Definitely on an upward curve these days. Lovely pitch of pure, dark fruit. Hint of liquorice as well. Energy and concentration on the palate, the plentiful but silky tannins providing power and persistence. Shows both muscle and finesse. (JL)