Château L’Eglise Clinet 1975 is a red Pomerol wine from Bordeaux, produced by Château L’Eglise Clinet. It blends 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. The Wine Advocate awarded it 92/100, describing it as concentrated, full-bodied, and still surprisingly youthful, with generous fruit and pronounced tannins. Jancis Robinson rates it 18.5/20, highlighting its balance, intensity, and now-softened tannins. Published drinking windows: 1996–2026 by The Wine Advocate and 2005–2030 by Jancis Robinson.
Château L’Église-Clinet is a Pomerol estate situated near the Church of Saint-Jean, on the appellation’s plateau. Its vineyard, covering approximately 4.5 hectares and planted with Merlot and Cabernet Franc, is run by the Durantou family. Since the passing of Denis Durantou in 2020, Noémie Durantou has been running the estate alongside cellar master Olivier Gautrat.
Owner
Famille Durantou
Maître de chais
Olivier Gautrat
Surface (ha)
4.50 ha
Production (average bottles per vintage)
18000
Histoire du domaine
The estate’s origins date back to 1882, when Mauléon-Rouchut, an ancestor of Denis Durantou, brought together family plots from Clos L’Église and plots from the neighbouring Château Clinet. The new wine-growing estate was then named Clos L’Église-Clinet and was situated near the Church of Saint-Jean in Pomerol. In 1942, the Durantou family joined forces with Pierre Lasserre, who took over the management of the estate and oversaw the marketing of the wines. In the 1950s, the estate adopted the name Château L’Église-Clinet. The 1955 vintage was the first to be marketed under this label. Denis Durantou took over the running of the family estate in 1983. He then undertook a refurbishment of the production facilities and carried out extensive work in the vineyard. Following his death in May 2020, his daughter Noémie Durantou has taken over the running of the estate. She works alongside Olivier Gautrat, the estate’s cellar master.
Critiques professionnelles
Notes & cotations
The Wine Advocate92/100+
Reviewed by
Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Published
Drink Date
1996 - 2026
The most surprising wine in the Rodenstock tasting was the 1975 L'Eglise-Clinet. I have always admired this estate and have given some vintages extremely high marks (1985, 1989, 1990), but I had no familiarity with ancient vintages. The surprise of the week-end was the extraordinary quality of L'Eglise-Clinet. The 1975 was nearly as concentrated as L'Evangile and La Mission-Haut-Brion, as well as extremely youthful with a thick, dark ruby/purple color with no signs of age. Sweet and expansive, with jammy fruit, huge body, and tannin, this approachable but youthful wine should evolve effortlessly for another 25-30+ years. I wonder if all the stocks of old vintages of L'Eglise-Clinet are squirreled away in private cellars in Belgium? The notes for this wine are taken from the description of Series I of the 1995 tasting conducted in Munich by Helga and Hardy Rodenstock. Many years after the tasting from which this note derives allegations were made concerning the authenticity of old and rare bottles of wine sold by Hardy Rodenstock to collectors around the world. The matter has been the subject of numerous articles, litigation and at least one book. Mr. Parker believes that the wines served to him at this tasting were authentic so this note and the others from that specific tasting continue to be posted on eRobertParker.com.
Opened to celebrate my 40th anniversary of writing about wine. Still dark ruby at its core shading to a pale rim. Lots of fine sediment. A whiff of dramatic cordite on the nose. Then lots of sweet fruit and the tannins – which I dreaded, having read earlier tasting notes on this wine from Broadbent and Parker – have dissipated! Really great wine that is now balanced, confident and intense. I opened it three hours before serving, decanted it, and promptly stoppered it up again. Wonderful sore-throat wine.
