Wonderful aromas of crushed violets and wisteria as well as black-truffle undertones and blueberries. Medium- to full-bodied, this has a beautiful center palate and an endless finish. It’s so polished and refined with breathtaking length that caresses every inch of the finish. A masterpiece for the vintage. 90% merlot and 10% cabernet franc. Try after 2030 and beyond.

Heart-stopping in every sense of the term, the striking perfume sets the wine off with its showy display of flowers, cocoa, mint leaves, black cherry liqueur, and an array of plums. Texturally, this is all cashmere on the palate. The concentrated fruits are so pure, they taste as if they were just picked from the vineyard. The finish is seamless, looking at the 60-second mark before it builds, expands, and keeps on going. The wine blends 90% Merlot with 10% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2028-2060.100 Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/wine-tasting-note/?vintage=2022&wine=Chateau%20L%27Eglise-Clinet

The grand vin from Noëmie Durantou, this is 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, as always. The élevage was in 85% new oak. There is a gloriously confident fragrance to the nose, with polished berry fruits, griottes and red cherry, very pure, but there are also notes of dark chocolate, dried sage, wild hawthorn, floral violets, roses and black pepper. Supple and deceptively straight at the start, hiding its light under a bushel at first, but in the midpalate it broadens out to reveal spiced cherry fruits, dark chocolate, sage, violets and peonies, with that peppery spice hinted at on the nose. The tannins are rather hidden by the wine’s confident and sinewy texture, flanking the middle of the wine but never obtrusive, with a more tightly knit and peppery grip through to the finish. A great L’Église-Clinet here, reflecting the concentration of the vintage, but holding on to a floral and fresh character. A stunner, and perhaps one of the best vintages of Église-Clinet I have tasted, a great wine but also classically Pomerol, on the mineral side, and most importantly undeniable evidence of Noëmie Durantou’s capabilities. This will be a superb addition to any Pomerol lover’s cellar. The alcohol is 14.6% on analysis.

Nöemie Durantou remarked that this vintage is the best she had ever known with respect to the Merlot, and given that the 2022 L'Eglise-Clinet contains 90% Merlot, that pre-empted a fabulous Pomerol. Durantou also mentioned that her wines were a little more "shy" compared to the previous day, though the bouquet only needed four or five minutes' coaxing before it unfolded with wonderfully delineated, focused scents of black cherries, peony, blood orange and crushed stone. Exquisitely balanced, the palate has a cashmere texture thanks to the pliant tannins, gaining density all the time. The finish is powerful and very sustained, disguising the 14.6% alcohol extremely well thanks to its countervailing acidic spine, though you feel a dab on the aftertaste. The 2022 is a L'Eglise-Clinet built for the long-term and continues the estate's stunning run of form. -- Neal Martin

Wild strawberries, dried herbs, blueberries, pencil lead and fragrant violets - the aromatics are stunning. You can feel the sculpting straight away - fine but firm and slightly grippy tannins set the frame from which the blackcurrant, salty liquorice and dark chocolate emerge as well as continued florality - the violet accents really making their mark. This is a serious wine, dark and almost heady if it weren't so cool and fresh. There’s no hint of overt heat or spice on the palate, instead you get a layering of pure fruit, fleshiness and minerality. Juicy and alive too, this really packs a lot and changes to red berry fruits after a few minutes with tobacco and slate on the finish. Complex and characterful. A dark horse but a thoroughbred. A wine that as soon as you've tasted it you want to taste it again. 3.65pH. Higher than usual new oak at 85% compared to between 75-80% in a normal year.

This is a wine that needs time in the bottle and in the glass, serious and well built, with body and character, and merits extra ageing. The texture brings us into the heart of Pomerol, or rather its heights, with luscious but reserved quality and the intellectual edge of L'Eglise Clinet. Crushed roses and violets set against dark cassis and blueberry fruits, just brilliant. Harvest September 3 to 9 harvest. 85% new oak, harvest September 3 to 9. Noemie Durantou and Olivier Gautrat.

(98+ points) Lastly, the 2022 Château L'Eglise Clinet is 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc that was harvested from the 3rd to the 9th of September, with its élevage spanning just 12 months in 85% new French oak followed by roughly four months in tank before bottling. It's another riveting 2022 in the vintage that brings remarkable depth and intensity while at the same time staying light on its feet, graceful, and balanced. Ripe black cherries, cassis, graphite, leafy tobacco, and damp earth and floral notes all shine here, and it's full-bodied, has a concentrated, powerful mouthfeel, ripe and perfectly polished tannins, and a great finish. It deserves 7-8 years of bottle age and will have 30-40 years of prime drinking. It will probably merit a perfect rating at maturity, and if this doesn’t put a smile on your face, nothing will.

(WA 96-98 points) Offering up deep aromas of mulberries and cassis mingled with incense, licorice, rose petals, spices and hints of new oak, the 2022 L'Eglise Clinet is full-bodied, deep and layered, with an elegantly muscular core of ripe but vibrant fruit that's framed by sweet, powdery tannins. Concentrated and multidimensional, it concludes with a long, resonant finish. A blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, harvested between September 3 and 9, this compelling Pomerol checks in at a largely concealed 14.6% alcohol. - William Kelley

Ripe, fleshy and dense in feel, with full-throated notes of boysenberry and blackberry preserves wrapped in licorice and bramble. The frankly toasted finish offers more than enough fruit to push through, with a late tug of earth to keep everything grounded. For the hedonist crowd. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2027 through 2042. - JM