CHÂTEAU CLINET

The 2023 Clinet is powerful and racy right out of the gate. Crushed flowers, spice, mocha and a kiss of French oak meld into a core of dark red- and black-toned fruit. This modern, stylish Pomerol is so expressive. Hints of graphite, lavender, crushed rocks and pencil shavings linger on the substantial finish. Tasted two times. Drinking range: 2030 - 2048 Rating: 94-96 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2024)

The Clinet vineyard now includes 0.5 hectares absorbed from Château Lécuyer, which Ronan Laborde purchased in 2022. The blend is 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon. I get sweet blackcurrant fruit on the nose here, with raspberry jam, damson, tar, espresso and rose petal, fragrant and deliciously expressive. The palate shows the same beautifully pure and floral dark fruit as seen on the nose, with veins of finely grained tannins (particularly on the second sample tasted), which come to the fore in the midpalate, before they wrap themselves tightly around the finish. An impressive barrel sample which reflects the success of the vintage in Pomerol, and also the long years of work Ronan Laborde has put it here. Well done, this is delicious. Rating: 94-96 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2024)

Rich and layered, the 2023 Clinet wafts from the glass with aromas of dark berries, spices and licorice, framed by creamy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, deep and complete, with a rich chassis of powdery tannin underpinning its sweet core of fruit, it concludes with a broad, vanillin-inflected finish. As is routinely the case at this address, it's a successfully rendered Pomerol in a more modern style. Rating: 94-95 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Apr 2024)