Chateau Guillot Clauzel 2021

JAMES SUCKLING: "Beautiful aromas of plums, chocolate, nutmeg and hazelnuts follow through to a medium to full body, with firm and silky tannins that are persistent and refined. Racy. Though it’s already impressive, give this a couple of years to come together. 80% merlot and 20% cabernet franc. Drink after 2026."

DECANTER: "Perfumed nose, something mineral about the scent, stoney with lots of cherry aromas. Smooth and alive, a nice upfront brightness to this - shiny but sleek. Crunchy fruit, clean but this has texture too and a real mineral undertone. You can feel the tension, it's straight and well defined, to the point, long and piercing. A very good wine that’s interesting and characterful. Nuanced with tomato leaf and spiced accents around the sides. A clean and easy to enjoy wine made by Guillaume Thienpont."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "This up and coming star of Pomerol delivers the goods in 2021. The wine is loaded with all of the black cherries, chocolate, plums, black raspberries, espresso, and floral accents you could ask for in Pomerol. The palate is even better with its display of vibrant, sweet, polished, creamy, dark red fruits, finishing with finesse and freshness and a refreshing sprig of mint that shows up in the backend. The wine blends 80% Merlot with 20% Cabernet Franc. Guillaume Thienpont of Vieux Chateau Certan is in charge here. Drink from 2026-2045."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Bottled without fining, the 2021 Guillot Clauzel offers up aromas of blackberries and cherries mingled with hints of mint, pencil shavings and orange zest. Medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with a generous core of pure, succulent fruit that's framed by melting tannins, it concludes with a long, saline finish. Produced by Guilluame Thienpont, it's a blend of 20% Cabernet Franc and 80% Merlot."

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "A blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, the 2021 Guillot Clauzel is medium garnet-purple in color. It rolls out of the glass with expressive scents of wild strawberries, fresh plums, and mulberries, plus touches of tar, slate, and Sichuan pepper. The medium-bodied palate is light on its feet and refreshing, with soft tannins and a spicy lift on the finish. Just 30 hectoliters/hectare this year. Made by Guillaume Thienpont of Vieux Chateau Certan, who commented "The low yields really helped to get the tannins ripe this year."