2005 l'Eglise Clinet
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Tasting notes
The 2005 L'Eglise-Clinet soars out of the glass with captivating aromatics. Inky dark fruit, graphite, lavender, licorice, rose petal and spice captive the senses. In the glass, the 2005 is outrageously beautiful, with layers of inky dark fruit that continue to open, seemingly with no end. Floral notes and redder tonalities of fruit develop with time in the glass. L'Eglise-Clinet is another wine in this tasting that just got better and better with time. It is an epic Pomerol that evokes so many memories of tasting at the château with late proprietor Denis Durantou. Well-stored bottles will prove to be nearly immortal. (NM)
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More reviews and scores
The 2005 l’Eglise-Clinet was picked 9 to 23 September. The bouquet races out of the blocks with red berry fruit, brown spices, black truffle and a whiff of smoke. Give it several minutes in the glass and it develops some gorgeous floral aromas, iris and violet, gaining precision with every swirl. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin that frame layers of red fruit infused with tea leaf, bay leaf, a touch of white pepper and an almost ferrous finish that caresses gently. This has long been a deeply impressive l’Eglise-Clinet with a half-century lifespan. Tasted at the l’Eglise-Clinet vertical at the château in April 2018.
Tasted blind. Bright crimson. Some ripe rose perfume on the nose. Big and sweet, if a bit brutal on the palate. Very concentrated. No delicate touch in the cellar! Pretty dramatic. (JR)
The Château l'Eglise-Clinet 2005 was served from bottle and from magnum (both ex-cellar). It has a magnificent nose with bewitching delineation: darker fruit than either the 2003 or 2004, blackberry, raspberry, hints of black tea and black truffle. The palate is medium-bodied with brilliant focus, still quite backward as so many grandees of this vintage remain, albeit beginning to soften towards the licorice-tinged finish. This is a benchmark for both Denis Durantou and this Pomerol estate, although I can see it testing wine-lovers' patience. Tasted March 2015.
About the producer
Ch. l'Eglise-Clinet is one of the most unassuming wine estates in Bordeaux. You'd probably drive past it if you didn't have prior knowledge of its vinous output. There's no ostentatious gateway nor sweeping gravel drive.