Ch.Clinet 2007 750ml

Wine Advocate #231, Jul 2017 by Neal Martin
Tasted at BI Wine & Spirits' 10-Years-On tasting, the 2007 Clinet offers attractive kirsch, black cherry, leather and game on the nose, a touch of truffle and peppermint emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with a gamy, leathery entry, a healthy pinch of black pepper lacing the black fruit, leading to a surprisingly structured and masculine finish. Unlike some of its Pomerol peers, I can see this Clinet holding up and even improving over the next decade. This was a very positive showing.

Chateau Clinet is a small Pomerol property that has leapt to prominence in the last 15 years and now produces one of the most sought-after wines in the region. The 9-hectare vineyard is on top of one of the finest plateaux in Pomerol and is planted with Merlot (80%), Cabernet Sauvignon (10%) and Cabernet Franc (10%).
In the 1980s Jean-Michel Arcaute married Clinet's proprietor George Audy's daughter and by 1986 Jean Michel was running the property. He engaged the services of cult oenologist Michel Rolland, who introduced much later harvesting, ensuring super-ripe fruit, as well as extending the amount of time the wines spent in 100% new oak barriques. Within 5 years, Clinet's wine were being compared to those of Petrus, Lafleur and Le Pin, and selling for similar prices.
Clinet produces a wine which is concentrated and rich but is supremely well balanced with a finish that lasts and lasts. It is hard to resist when young, yet the wines from the best vintages will continue to improve for over 10 years. Jean-Michel Arcaute was tragically killed in a boating accident in 2001.

Meats, Beef and Venison