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Wine Description
The Story
Château CLINET is one of the most prestigious estates of the Pomerol wine region, set amongst the finest parcels of this well-known plateau. Located 40km to the east of Bordeaux, on the right bank of the Garonne River, its gravelly clay soil makes Pomerol the terroir of the finest Merlots in the world. The natural resources required to produce the exceptional quality of our grapes, simply cannot be reproduced anywhere else on earth.
Successive generations of owners have been producing world-renowned wines here for centuries and, since 1998, it has been the duty and privilege of the Laborde family to perpetuate the highest possible standards, observing the traditions of a strict cultural approach.
In the 1980s Jean-Michel Arcaute married Clinet's proprietor George Audy's daughter and by 1986 Jean Michel was running the property. He engaged the services of cult oenologist Michel Rolland, who introduced much later harvesting, ensuring super-ripe fruit, as well as extending the amount of time the wines spent in 100% new oak barriques.
Clinet produces a wine which is concentrated and rich but is supremely well balanced with a finish that lasts and lasts. It is hard to resist when young, yet the wines from the best vintages will continue to improve for over 10 years. Jean-Michel Arcaute was tragically killed in a boating accident in 2001.
Wine Information
After a cold winter, spring was mild and rainy. The flowering took place later than in 1999 and produced high quantities of grapes. Although these inclement weather conditions, the flowering has been good and homogenous. A severe drought put a strain on water from the 29th July. It has only rained one day within two months! Thanks to the clemency of the weather, ripening occurred in the best possible conditions, concentrating a high level of tannins on the skins. That explains the high concentration of the wines.
Harvesting took place at the end of September, under perfect weather. Fermentation lasted for 5 weeks, with cold maceration and low pump overs. 2000 is a great vintage. The wine is full-bodied, pure, sweet and dense, and has an outstanding freshness. It has a great aging potential (20-25 years!), but may reach its optimum quality from 2007.
Vintage 2000
Weather conditions / The 2000 vintage was proclaimed from the start as one of the best vintages of modern times. In the spring of 2003, I had many opportunities to find out if we really had a true dream vintage on our hands.
During the 2000 harvest, while doing a “personal inspection” in the vineyards, I noticed that something extraordinary was on the way. The grapes looked extremely healthy.
While the sorting table was rolling, I observed that there were few leaves, stems and weeds among the grapes. This is why sorting the grapes was so easy and quick. This must be one of the characteristics of the 2000 vintage, because normally even great vintages require a lot of work at the sorting table.
The 2000 vintage is a classic, extravagant and extremely long Bordeaux with dark and extremely dense wines, which have a huge concentration of fruit, length and superbly concentrated tannins. The tannin is not allowed to dominate, as it is well enveloped by the fruit. A scent of under-ripeness is only present in a few wines. One of the hallmarks of this vintage is an intense, deep aroma of dark berries, such as blueberries, blackberries and black cherries.
All red grape varieties have reached perfect maturity, including Bordeaux's most temperamental and unruly grape variety, Petit Verdot. Petit Verdot brings to wines the long-awaited addition of backbone and power.
Additionally, the grapes for whites, such as Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Muscadelle, ripened perfectly and produced extremely fine dry white wines. The sweet white wines have unfortunately transformed into some light, elegant and charming wines, based 100% on the September harvest. From October 11, it rained a lot in Bordeaux and this continued until the end of the year.
