Chateau Clinet 2016

JEB DUNNUCK: "Tasted on four separate occasions, the 2016 Château Clinet is another brilliant wine from this estate. Showing slightly more freshness and purity than the 2015, its saturated purple color is followed by a thrilling array of crème de cassis, graphite, ground herbs, and a terrific sense of minerality. Deep, full-bodied, with building tannins, and a magical sense of purity and elegance paired with real density and depth, it needs short term cellaring and will keep for three decades."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2016 Clinet is composed of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. It was aged using the Oxoline system, in 70% new and 30% one-year-old barrels for 16 months. It has a deep garnet-purple color with cedar and smoked meats on the nose giving way to black and red plums and earthy notions with wafts of cassis and pencil shavings. The palate is medium to full-bodied, elegant, polished and vivacious with loads of red and black fruit layers and an earthy finish."

DECANTER: "This is a wine that makes you want to slow down, take your time and let those flavours envelop you. It's a little subdued right now, but the texture pulls you in and holds on tight. There is Cabernet in the DNA here and you feel it: a touch of austerity in the first breath, then an intense punch of dark, tight cassis fruits with a liquorice and dark chocolate finish. It's taken on more flesh on the bones during ageing, with the aromatics blossoming through the glass and revealing floral, violet-stained edging and a silky smooth tannic frame. Drinking Window 2024 - 2040"

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Combines elegance, grace and concentration, with purity and freshness, allowing the silky, lush, chocolate infused, plums and black cherries to shine through all those truffles. Long and complex, with the ability to age for decade, this is not as user friendly as the 2015, so allow it at least a decade to age and develop."

JAMES SUCKLING: "Beautiful blue fruit and earth with hints of black truffle, this has a violet and fragrant edge, too. Really complex, youthful impression here. The palate has mouthwatering fruit flavor and terrific sense of fresh energy and cut on the finish. A blend of 90 per cent merlot and ten per cent cabernet sauvignon. Try from 2024."

WEINWISSER: "Im Blend sind 90 % Merlot, 10 % Cabernet Franc, Produktion 48.000 bis 50.000 Flaschen. 70 % neue Barriques. Sattes Purpur mit Granatschimmer am Rand. Dunkle Kirschen in der offenen Nase, dahinter Schokopralinen, Kokos sowie viel Cassis. Am kräftigen Gaumen mit seidiger Textur und mehligem Tannin. Endet im langen Finale mit blauen Beeren, dunklem Tabak, Pflaumenhaut und mit spürbarer Adstringenz. Klasse hat er zweifelsfrei!"

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung, feine schwarze Beerenfrucht, rauchig, Gewürznuancen, Edelholznuancen. Straff, schwarzbeerig, präsente, etwas fordernde Tannine, wirkt im Finish noch etwas trocken, viel Holz im Spiel, braucht Zeit, sicheres Potenzial."

WINE SPECTATOR: "Warm and fleshy in feel, showing dark plum, boysenberry and blackberry sauce flavors infused with mulling spice and black tea notes. Singed alder and tobacco hints flicker on the finish, adding texture. This delivers an encore of fruit detail on the finish too, with some sneaky length. Seductive. Best from 2021 through 2034."