Chateau L'Eglise-Clinet, Pomerol

Really the only '98 on the table that could compete with the Trotanoy. This is more black-fruited with a fabulous silky texture and gorgeous flavors of truffles and blackberry fruit. There are still tannins present on the long, powerful finish that shows complex notes of sweet tar, coal dust and dark spices. A superb '98 reaching peak now but with plenty of life ahead.

1998 vintage

Decanted two hours. Drank extremely well. Incredibly smooth. Dark fruit and spicy palate and nose. Will last a very long time. Superb.

1998 vintage

Needed a couple of hours in the decanter to really get going. Dark plum, soya sauce, truffle, Chinese 5-spice, mint, a bit feral and some sweetness developing with time. Lots of twists and turns on the aromatics as this gained traction with aeration. Plush, round mouthfeel, silky tannins, incredible length and depth, wonderfully complex. This has plenty of time left and will likely improve with further cellaring. Superb.

1998 vintage

Out of 3L. Left my Durand at a buddies house so I had to get creative to get the cork out. It ultimately took two corks in side by side to pull it out. It was worth the effort! Had a hint of prune on the nose and palate when I opened it, but after sitting open for 3 hours (no decant) it was gone. What was left was a fantastic right bank Bordeaux at peak. It was the WOTN …

1998 vintage

Corked. Unlike the bottle I opened two days ago, this one had plenty of fruit and was not a Prune fest. I initially had high hopes it was going to drink well, but I got just a hit of cork on the palate after opening. Sadly, with air, the TCA exploded and it was quickly dumped similar to the bottle a few days ago. I’ve got one 3L left and plan to open it sooner than later. After my recent …

1998 vintage

Sadly this bottle was done. Total prune fest. Dumped it down the sink…

1998 vintage

Expected more depth and complexity,... nothing wrong with the wine just not memorable

2003 vintage

Still going well. You can sense the "heat" (a little ripeness/over-ripeness) but no astringency, very smooth tannins and a decent finish. A relatively soft mouth-feel for the intensity with a hint of spice on the finish. I got these for a ludicrously low price and very happy to have done so.

2003 vintage

Open, flowery scent. Fans of aged white tea will recognize this character. Very soon after opening, this wine becomes beautifully smooth and round, of a little empty. Goes progressively from sweet liqueur fruits (strawberry, blackcurrants, kernels of sour cherry) with hints of spice, to a sterner, rougher version about an hour after opening. Very interesting and complex! 97 pts

1998 vintage

A year since we had this last and a beautiful 93 again. Age suits this wine as the development add dimensions and layers vs the bright fruit of youth. Juicy and well ripe but not overdone and with a full character. Good now and will be good for another 20 years. Easy 92-93

2007 vintage

Lovely balance of primary, secondary, Some tertiary. Drinking very nicely now but will be fine for another 5-10

2007 vintage

Very fruity with some lactose notes on the nose initially which disappeared after an hour or so. Mid palate felt overly tannic and not like previous bottle from same case. 48h later the half bottle remaining was much more measured and balanced. Was absolutely lovely after a couple of days of air but was a bit of a miss on the night.

2007 vintage

Apart from the smokiness also some freshness and earthiness. Sort. Not impressive but solid.

1999 vintage

Delicious. Absolutely ready to drink. Nice mix of primary fruit, secondary and tertiary flavours. Wonderful balance. Improved a lot with air and was perfectly poised after 2h in decanter. A bit tight on opening.

2007 vintage

Note: I use the recommended scale, so 85 represents a very good wine. A bit from memory. Very good aged Bdx. Not quite the magical 90, but still excellent.

1999 vintage

A bit closed in the beginning but opened up after 1 hour (should have decanted it) velvety and smooth but with very vibrant tannins that were well integrated. Some fruit still left. decently long finish. Lovely wine

2003 vintage

Decanted for a good 45 minutes and definitely on the helping side. The wine albeit young still is very polished and smooth and very much well within its drinking window. Some earthy, secondary feel but still the bulk of this is Pomerol well ripened and balanced fruit. Dark side to this , well mannered, well made and really a top end wine with so much more to give. 93 for now but really a top end wine and with a …

2007 vintage

Half hour decant. The tannins are fully resolved. There is a combination of residual dark fruit and balanced acidity mixed with tertiary scents and flavors. A fantastic wine. Restaurant Lalique at Chateau Lafaurie-Peyraguey.

1998 vintage

Decanted around one hour. It smelled wonderful - all the autumnal, truffley goodness you'd want from a mature Pomerol. The wine didn't quite follow through on the palate, though, which lacked the midpalate amplitude, complexity and length of finish found in better vintages, but was still red-fruitedly delicious in the manner of a good vintage of Cruzelles. Very happy with this and some grouse. I think this is at peak, and I'd start drinking up.

2007 vintage

Beautiful claret nose but the palate was a bit lean for my taste. A little unbalanced as far as lacking enough fruit. All the tertiary elements were certainly there(smoke, game, damp musty forest floor), but it just was just not hitting it with the fruit keeping up.

1998 vintage

Second bottle....: Corked!! :((

2003 vintage

I literally can't imagine a wine that captures the smell of a top Pomerol like this one. Then on the palate it shows a silky-fine, zen-like texture with wonderful flavors of black fruits, sweet dark earth and savory smoked meats and perfect acidity. It finishes with great precision and persistence and shows complex notes of minerals, fine silt and spices. Easily one of the wines of this great right bank vintage.

1998 vintage

Same bottle as Nutty08. This bottle had gotten a little cooked somewhere along the way

1999 vintage

Probably heat damaged

1999 vintage

Very big wine, still in the making. Not much else to say except that if’s great and you should give it ample time to open up

1998 vintage

Bordeaux 2003 – 20 Years On – 33 Reds : All wines tasted blind, not decanted (some wines would have needed it). Observations: 1) 2003 is not a good vintage. The wines don’t have the depth and elegance of good years. But I was positively surprised, that while it’s clearly a hot year, there are less overripe, over-extracted and prematurely dying wines than in 09/10. Still, there is no comparison to how Chateauxs handle hot years today. 2) Compared to …

2003 vintage

Decanted one hour. Medium bodied. Almost Burgundian. Delightful subtle nose.. Black cherry, smoke, and underbrush come through. Relatively short on the finish. One of the better 1999s. Drink up.

1999 vintage

Grand Bordeaux 2003 horizontal tasting (Fribourg) : Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments. Tasting note: Nicely extracted dark berry fruit with sweet spice …

2003 vintage

Drinking good, but I think it would need at least five more years in bottle. Pomerol and seems like still developing.

1999 vintage

An extraordinary showing tonight and it outclassed the '98 VCC which is no easy task. This wine just has more precision and clarity with deep dark fruits and superb acid lift. Very fresh and youthful but the hard shell is beginning to open and there is a fantastic complexity developing on the finish with notes of truffles, spices and minerals. Stunning and with upside! Decanted 4 hours. 96+

1998 vintage

Favorit producer. So elegant

2003 vintage

Mushroom, coffee, chocolate, cranberry, tobacco, liquorice, leather. Don't taste the fruit after 1 hr.

2007 vintage

Dinner with the wine group (Cindy's Place) : aromatic, red currant, lovely; palate is full bodied, elegance, well balanced, red and black fruits, integrated tannins; long finish. This is also excellent, just a step behind Lafleur. 94

1998 vintage

Took about 2 hours to open up. Started very musky and forest floor but then became quite long alegant with notes of leather smoke and tobacco. Delicious! Only regret is that we didn’t give it even more time as we had it opened at a restaurant!

1998 vintage

Opened 2nd bottle had this stored at room temperature for about a year. Blood or higher octave, lighter iron on the nose. Seashore on the nose as well. Palette nice, vibrant aged fruit.

1983 vintage

Magnum. A bit tired on the nose, slightly jammy. Good acidity but also lacked excitement on the palate. A perfectly pleasant drink, but a pale shadow of how this wine ought to have showed (e.g. see my note from March 2021). Was BTG and I ought to have sent it back, but we were pushed for time and I needed to finish my meal!

1998 vintage

Sunday Lunch - Greg & Sayo with friends (The Conservatory, Crown Wine Cellars, 18 Deep Water Bay Drive, Shouson Hill, Hong Kong) : From two double magnums. Surprisingly faded plum colour, semi transparent, but the meniscus is broad and transparent old faded mahogony colour. Nose is surprisingly autumnal - slightly overripe mulberry and red plums but with no residual sugar, dried oak leaves, like a late October Sunday walk through the woods. A bit more fruit emerges with extended time …

1998 vintage

Three hour decant. Super pure and fresh. Loads of red fruit. Long finish. In a great spot. Wish I had more.

1998 vintage

Decanted for two hours. The decanting really helped open up the wine. Medium to full bodied. Black cherry, blackberries, mocha and earth come through. Round and enjoyable.

1999 vintage

Decanted 2 hours. Beautiful fruit. Still fresh. Tasted 10 years younger. Drink now thru 2030 (BTW I have had a couple of badly corked bottles of this wine). This bottle was pristine

1998 vintage

Wow - lovely maturity here - full body, intense and pure - merlot as it should be. Notes of cherry, plum, tobacco and cedar. Very very long (90 seconds). Finishes bright and spicy. First of 3 bottles cellared. No rush on the other two but so good it will be hard to avoid opening the others!

1998 vintage

Integrated tannin, tertiary aroma and the glory in its late peak. Great timing, great wine.

1999 vintage

Blackberry, sous bois, gravel, hints of vanilla cake; elegant, smooth, and textured; the fruit is almost entirely gone with notes of chocolate and faint charcoal remaining; but the structure is still present and very refined; very long finish; a beautiful faded wine After 2 Hours: More integrated and somewhat more fruit on both nose and palate; nose has a mostly similar expression but with greater fruit compote emerging; on the palate, while it is the structure, texture, and form that …

1983 vintage

2 hour double decant. Lovely.

2007 vintage

Note: I use the recommended scale 85 is a very good wine. Given the other reviews of this wine I will confess that this bottle disappointed me a bit. Following the good advice of others, I decanted it for a few hours (2-3). and it went from tight upon opening to much more accessible. For the first hour or so after this it was drinking very nicely, but then it started to fade, hence the lower score. I have another, …

1999 vintage

No decanting. Tobacco, earth, rather „rough“ on the nose and palate for a right bank bordeaux. high acidity, medium alc, medium+ tannins. firm and lenghty finish. decanting recommended for at least 2 hours.

2003 vintage

Glorious colour; polished restraint, intoxicating with a melange of spices on bouquet; rich, harmonious, silky, perfect pitch; lingering. Drink now & next 20 years.

1998 vintage

Disappointing at first—but after 2 hours in the decanter it shed its rather monolithic sullen fruit and showed some lift. Can franc took some time to show—but eventually this had nice aromatics with leafy herbal notes, with hints of cedar and mild pepper spice. After some air, fruit was nuanced, with mix of leather and herbal spice notes. Still vibrant and young. Definitely decant this.

1999 vintage

Still pretty strong and closed up. Perhaps another ten years. *After 3-4nights did open up, but not spectacularly. So, does get better. Needs more of the forward arrow of time I suspect. Still very vigorous and youthful.

1983 vintage

Sjaak's 40th birthday dinner (Groot-Ammers, Netherlands) : Pristine bottle. Very impressive, shows some age but retains a lovely Pomerol expression, an outstanding 1981.

1981 vintage

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Chateau L'Eglise-Clinet, Pomerol

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