2022 Chateau Clinet
Vintage: 2022
Region: Pomerol, Bordeaux
Country: France
About Winery
The Château Clinet is located on the top of the Pomerol plateau, the cradle of all the prestigious vintages of this Terroir.
The name "Clinet" is spelled "Cliné" on the Belleyme map dating from 1785. The name could come from the Old French "Cliner" which means gentle slope on which this vineyard is planted from the famous plateau of Pomerol.
The vineyard extends over 8.5 hectares of deep old gravel with a subsoil rich in iron dross. The vineyard whose average age is 40 years is planted with black Merlot for 85%, Cabernet Sauvignon 10% and Cabernet Franc 5%.
The grapes are hand-picked and sorted in the winery and the wine is aged in new oak barrels for 80% for 16 to 22 months.
The estate
Located in the heart of the Pomerol appellation, Château Clinet, with its famous gravelly plots, is one of Pomerol's finest wine estates. The estate, on Bordeaux’s Right Bank, was bought by the Laborde family in 1999.
The vineyard
A benchmark among the great wines of Pomerol, Château Clinet oversees an exceptional vineyard of 9.8 hectares in production on a clay-gravel terroir. The vineyard is run using integrated farming methods.
The vintage
A mild, dry winter preceded an early spring of frost, the consequences of which were negligible. The rest of the year was hot and dry, accelerating the vines' growth cycle and bringing the harvest forward by two weeks. The clay soil helped to keep the vines cool and moist. These climatic conditions ensured that the grapes reached optimum ripeness.
Winemaking and ageing
Gentle vinification with slow, prolonged extractions, including a 30-day vatting period. The wine is aged in Bordeaux barrels (80% new and 20% one-wine barrels) for around 18 months.
Blend
Merlot (80%)
Cabernet Sauvignon (20%)
Jeb Dunnuck, 96-98 pts
"The 2022 Château Clinet showed beautifully, with an almost Médoc-like style in its darker cassis, graphite, cedar pencil, and tobacco aromas and flavors. Full-bodied on the palate, it has ripe, velvety tannins, a round, layered mouthfeel. and remarkable purity. Pomerol was one of the erratic appellations in 2022, but this beauty does everything right and brings a beautiful mix of richness and elegance. It should round into form with just short-term bottle age and evolve for two decades. The blend is the usual 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon."
Wine Advocate, 94-96 pts
A blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon that represents the earliest harvest in this estate's history (beginning on September 6), the 2022 Clinet is a success, offering up aromas of cherries and dark berries mingled with hints of spices and a discreet patina of new oak. Medium to full-bodied, ample and layered, it's impressively vibrant, with a rich core of fruit framed by powdery tannins from judicious extraction. This has more in common with the more refined 2018 and 2019 vintages at this address than with the powerhouse 2020, and that is no mean feat in an even more extreme vintage. Bravo to Ronan Laborde and his team. (WK)"
Vinous, 94-96 pts
"The 2022 Clinet is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon picked from 6-21 September at around 34hL/ha. There were apparently many bunches, but the berries were small. Aged in 80% new oak and 20% 2nd fill barrels, the 2022 offers black fruit on the nose with traces of Japanese nori probably emanating from the Cabernet. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, well-judged acidity and a fine backbone that gently grips the mouth. This is a linear Pomerol with impressive delineation on the almost pastille-like finish. I appreciate this Clinet's persistence and discrete spiciness on the aftertaste. Excellent. (NM)"
Decanter, 96 pts
"Streamlined and sleek, silky smooth but also gorgeously textured. clean and clear with grip and interest. Less fleshy and chewy than some, more charming and elegant with tannins that have a weight in the mouth. There is clear power and concentration underneath the juicy acidity with a straight backbone and direct energy from start to finish. Appealing layers of salinity, blackcurrant fruit, creamy vanilla, cool cola touches and crushed stones on the finish. Feels well made and sophisticated. 3.74pH. A yield of 34hl/ha. Earliest harvest ever starting on 6 September for Merlot and 20 and 21 September for Cabernet Sauvignon. (GH)"
Jane Anson, 96 pts
"Sleek, concentrated, red roses, violets, creamy smoked caramel, bilberry, cassis, blackberry pastilles, biscuit, mint leaf, great estate signature, maintains its sleek intense concentated and supremely classy character.
Strong tannic build up, muscular and full of intent, with a fennel and oyster shell signof. Ronan Laborde owner."
