CHÂTEAU LA CLOTTE

This is 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. It has a very pure, fresh, black cherry fruit nose, all wrapped in a gentle, honeyed oak texture. This sense of freshness, perhaps lifted by the inclusion of 20% Cabernet, carries through onto the palate, perfumed, with lovely purity of fruit, with fine energy, and delightful acid energy undercutting it. Cool, structured, fresh, polished, with cherry stone sapidity, a cool acid-driven tension, but lovely medium-bodied fruit over the top. After the likes of Fonbel and Simard, I find a much more serious, limestone-derived build to this wine, which I really like. Absolutely delicious, and yet I sense there is probably still untapped potential here. Rating: 17-18/20 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2016)

The 2015 La Clotte, now part of Alain Vauthier's portfolio, is a blend of 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Pauline Vauthier told me that they had pulled up one-hectare of vines because of the condition, leaving three in production. It was macerated by pigeage only, no remontage. Matured in 85% new oak, that wood feels quite prominent at the moment, although there is sufficient fruit to absorb it. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin on the entry, very smooth and nicely poised with fine precision on the finish. Elegant and poised, this already shows an improvement in this estate since the Vauthiers acquired the vineyard. Drinking range: 2020 - 2035 Rating: 90-92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2016)

A fascinating wine with purity and length. Very tight and compacted. Full and silky texture. Curious and enlightening. Structured. Now owned by the Vauthier family of Ausone. First vintage. Rating: 94-95 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Mar 2016)