2012 Wine Advocate 95: With a dense purple color and gorgeous levels of fruit, especially black raspberry and blackcurrant, this full-bodied, opulent style of wine is another great success for Clinet, a château that has been on top of its game for the last decade. This is stunning stuff, and whatever new oak has been used – and there is plenty – it is totally disguised by the luxurious and extravagant fruit level. This full-bodied, opulent Pomerol should drink well for 15 or more years. James Suckling 93: Fabulous nose of orange peel, blueberries and blackberries. Full body, firm tannins and a cocoa, cedar and berry finish. Little austere now but so fine. Truly outstanding for the vintage. Vinous 95: A wine of total precision, the 2012 Clinet possesses striking aromatic nuance and delineation. Crushed flowers, sweet raspberries, herbs and mint flesh out effortlessly, with silky, polished tannins that add to the wine's feel of graciousness. The spherical, beautifully textured finish suggests the 2012 will offer a wide drinking window of pure pleasure over the next 15-20 years. This is impressive. The 2012 is 90% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Cabernet Franc. 2020 Wine Advocate 94: The 2020 Clinet offers up aromas of minty cherries, blackberries and cassis mingled with hints of licorice, loamy soil and rose petals. Full-bodied, broad and rich, with a layered mid-palate underpinned by powdery tannins that assert themselves on the youthfully firm finish, it's impressively balanced for a wine at 15% alcohol, but it remains a rather burly, powerful Clinet. James Suckling 98: What a beautiful young wine, showing so much finesse and tension, with ultra-fine tannins and subtle and long flavors and character. It’s medium-bodied with extremely silky tannins that grow on the palate to a seamless finish. Harmonious. Another fine Pomerol for the cellar. Drink after 2027. Decanter 95: Dark and heady, smooth but still lean with a sense of seriousness with firm tannins that fill the mouth. Lovely high acidity offsets the powdery, chalky texture with perfumed blackberries and cherries alongside liquorice and cola touches. Rich and quite dense but with lovely persistence and energy. 2021 Wine Advocate 92: The 2021 Clinet opens in the glass with aromas of dark berries, plums and licorice mingled with hints of mint and orange zest, followed by a medium to full-bodied palate with a sweet core of fruit that's framed by a chassis of sweet, powdery tannins that assert themselves on the oak-inflected finish. Out of the gates, this remains quite structured by its élevage. James Suckling 99: Extremely complex and subtle with blackberries, wild forest fruits, orange peel, bark and mushroom on the nose. Perfumed. Full-bodied with ultra-fine tannins that are polished and extremely long, going on for minutes. Structured and layered yet compressed on the finish. Some terra-cotta and stoney undertones. This shows old-vine character and the essence of 85% merlot and 15% cabernet franc. Give this three or four years in bottle, but it’s surprisingly attractive now. Vinous 94: The 2021 Clinet is bold, explosive and dense. A blend of 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2021 is a rich and ample wine of tremendous energy and tension. This represents a modern style of Pomerol that will drink well upon release and also age. Decanter 95: Floral and lifted nose, clean, clear and fragrant. Soft but grippy, chalky and intense, with a push and movement to the textured strawberry and red cherry fruit. Almost fleshy but cool, giving some roundness but no heaviness. This has character and something to get your teeth into. Nice persistence, well presented. 2022 Wine Advocate 94+: The 2022 Clinet opens in the glass with aromas of ripe cherries and berries framed by a lavish application of creamy new oak. Full-bodied, layered and concentrated, it's dense and muscular, with rich structuring tannins, impressively lively acids and a vanillin-laden finish. While it remains nicely balanced, it will require a bit of patience for its élevage to integrate. James Suckling 97: Intense aromas of dark violets and blueberries as well as terra-cotta follow through to a full body, yet it’s tight and focused with beautifully framed fruit from polished tannins and a long and rather endless finish. A complete and fresh Pomerol in 2022. Drink after 2031. Vinous 95: The 2022 Clinet is a little more immediate than its showing from barrel when it needed more time to open. This offers well-defined and focused scents of black cherry, potpourri, oyster shell and tobacco. The palate is well balanced with a slightly savory opening thanks to the Cabernet components, with touches of graphite filtering through the dark chocolate-tinged dark berry fruit laced with a hint of mocha. This has fine length and is certainly fresh. It may need just three or four years in bottle and then will drink well for many more. 2025 Wine Advocate 93-95: Less marked by oak than in recent vintages, the 2025 Clinet reveals a refined bouquet of cedar, dark berries, spice and fresh licorice. Medium- to full-bodied, dense and layered, it’s broad-shouldered yet more tensile than usual, built around a structured core of fruit and concluding with a long, perfumed finish. Reflecting the vintage in its balance between density and approachability, it remains true to the estate’s style, with a firm, robust frame. It will benefit from some years in bottle to fully harmonize. This is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. - Yohan Castaing James Suckling 94-95: A composed, well-structured and precise Pomerol showcasing red berries and baking spices on the nose. Full-bodied with plush tannins and fresh acidity. There is energy at the center despite the solid frame of tannins shaping the midpalate. Focused and driven finish. Vinous 96-98: The 2025 Clinet was the earliest picking ever, from September 4, and aged in 60% new oak plus 40% one-year- old barrels. Vintages now have a little more Cabernet Sauvignon, as a hectare of Merlot was uprooted. Now this has a delightful nose, perhaps the most elegant and refined that I have encountered at this stage: vivid red cherry, raspberry and wild strawberry scents, neatly embroidered oak, more floral in style. The palate is medium- bodied with chiselled, fine tannins, bright and tensile, exquisite focus, with a peacock's tail on the finish. Quite crystalline on the finish, this is a Clinet that I would like in my cellar. Or at the dinner table. Or in my glass. - Neal Martin
