2019 - L'Eglise-Clinet, Pomerol

Hard to beat this as an example of the beating heart of Pomerol, with juicy yet slow-delivered fruit, precisely carved and spliced plump cassis and blackberry. The austerity on the first tannins hides depths of generous liquorice, slate, pencil lead, with grated white radish and black pepper spice. Powerful, unyielding, not giving everything away yet, gets better and better, and in the glass as it opens you get a proudly fleshy and generous feel to the fruits. Has years ahead of it before it is ready to drink, but it already makes you smile. 70% new oak. Harvest September 18 to 26. A fittingly exceptional last vintage under Denis Durantou, who passed away in May 2020.

The 2019 L'Eglise-Clinet, a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, is deep garnet-purple in color. It is a little broody to start, delivering wafts of fragrant soil, truffles, and fennel seed over a core of blackberry pie, prunes, and fruitcake. The medium to full-bodied palate is so concentrated you could stand a spoon up in it, featuring ripe, rounded tannins and soft acidity, finishing long and earthy.

The 2019 L'Eglise-Clinet has a very pure and almost Burgundian bouquet with wild strawberry, Morello cherries, touches of cassis and violet petals. This is one of the most sensual in the line-up. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, velvety in texture, quite tensile thanks to the acidity. Beguiling purity, plush black cherries, plum and white pepper with a long and spicy finish. Superb. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.

Unquestionably one of the wines of the vintage on the right bank, the late Denis Durantou's swan-song 2019 L'Eglise Clinet is showing very well indeed in bottle. Unfurling in the glass with aromas of dark berry fruit mingled with notions of raw cocoa, violets, black truffle, orange rind, burning embers and loamy soil, it's full-bodied, layered and concentrated, its velvety attack segueing into a deep, multidimensional core that's framed by ripe, powdery tannins and lively balancing acids. Seamless but youthfully structured, this is a prodigious young Pomerol that will richly reward bottle age.

Tasted blind. Introvert, contained nose and pretty dry fruit! Not quite the opulence of some of its peers. Bonfire note on the end. Though it’s pretty long. Dried fruit is the main message at the moment. Long term. (JR)