2018 Château La Clotte Saint-Émilion Grand Cru
| Type of Wine | Red |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | |
| Appellation | Saint-Emillion |
| Winery | |
| Vintage | 2018 |
| Grape | , , |
| Content (Alc) | 0.75 ltr (13.5%) |
| Drink window | 2022 - 2040 |
In stock
12 items available
Description
This cru includes a very small vineyard of 3.5 hectares and cellars carved from the limestone rock of St. Emilion, and has been owned by the Vauthier family (Ch. Ausone) since 2014. It has a magnificent piece of predominantly clay-limestone terroir, located right next to Ch. Pavie Macquin in the center of St. Emilion. Yields are kept very low (30hl/ha) and ripening takes place just as with Ch. Ausone on 85% new oak.
The 2018 La Clotte consists of 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. Deep purple-black in color, it jumps out of the glass with cozy scents of crushed blueberries, Morello cherries and black raspberries with hints of oolong tea, violets, mocha and cigar box plus a hint of cedarwood. Full-bodied with a firm frame of fine-grained tannins and lots of freshness, packed with vibrant black and blue fruit layers, with a long finish with great purity.
Specifications
| Type of Wine | Red |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Bordeaux |
| Appellation | Saint-Emillion |
| Winery | Chateau La Clotte |
| Grape | Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot |
| Biological certified | No |
| Natural wine | No |
| Vegan | No |
| Vintage | 2018 |
| Drinking as of | 2022 |
| Drinking till | 2040 |
| Alcohol % | 13.5 |
| Alcohol free/low | No |
| Content | 0.75 ltr |
| Oak aging | Yes |
| Sparkling | No |
| Dessert wine | No |
| Closure | Cork |
| Parker rating | 95 |
| James Suckling rating | 94 |
| Vinous rating | 96 |
Professional Reviews
Parker
The Wine Advocate
RP (93-95)
Reviewed by:
Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2018 La Clotte is made up of 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. Deep purple-black in color, it leaps from the glass with gregarious scents of crushed blueberries, Morello cherries and black raspberries with touches of oolong tea, violets, mocha and cigar box plus a waft of cedar. Full-bodied with a solid frame of fine-grained tannins and oodles of freshness, it is packed with vibrant black and blue fruits layers, finishing long with great purity.
I didn’t have much of a chance to speak with Alain and Pauline Vauthier during my visit for primeurs. It was a crazy busy day at Ausone when I came—the place completely crammed with anxious visitors from all over the world waiting to taste. That was fine though, because I was at Ausone back in October when Pauline was managing the 2018 fermentations and had a chance to head into the winery with her then to see her method of “gentle infusion” in action; it involves a very clever means of using a forklift to gravity feed the juice onto the skin cap and allowing it to slowly trickle down through the skins. Tasting the 2018s during primeurs, I was overcome with the very satisfying sense that she absolutely nailed it back then.
Château Ausone—one of the most envied vineyards in all of Bordeaux—truly excelled itself in 2018. Perched on Saint-Émilion’s famous limestone plateau and calcareous clay slope, it clearly showed its pedigree under 2018’s challenging conditions. The Vauthiers have produced a wine from this place and time that is at once intense, superbly nuanced and bursting with energy but has a rock-solid structure of perfectly ripe tannins. And it has tons of freshness that comes firstly from maintaining the vineyard’s signature low pH. (The pH was 3.65 this year, a little high for Ausone, but still incredible considering how many wines are over 3.8.) Secondly, that freshness comes from sparks of bright, crunchy fruit intermingled with rich, seductive layers. The alcohol, at 14.5%, grounds all the otherwise ethereal components with well-poised gravitas. Astonishingly great wine—brava!
Published: Apr 23, 2019
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
James Suckling
CHÂTEAU LA CLOTTE ST.-EMILION 2018
Thursday, April 11, 2019
Country : France
Region : Bordeaux
Vintage : 2018
Score : 93-94
A tight and firm red with dark berries and wet earth. Medium-bodied, racy and bright. Shows tension and structure for the vintage.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Vinous
(93-96)
From: Bordeaux 2018: Back in Black (Apr 2019)
The 2018 La Clotte is fabulous. In fact, I don’t remember a recent vintage that has been anywhere near as compelling as the 2018. Striking aromatics give the 2018 dimension and nuance. On the palate, the wine is every bit as arresting in its beauty. Rose petal, mint, sage, lavender and blood orange add vivacity throughout. The Franc really comes through in the wine's aromatic profile and saline-infused finish. I loved it.
- By Antonio Galloni on April 2019
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
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Wijnhuis
With just 4 hectares, this property has a very long history that takes us back to the 16th century and the illustrious de Grailly family. La Clotte is also marked by its geography, that of a building leaning against the side of a cliff and concealing deep labyrinths. This feature gave it its name, La Clotte, meaning a small troglodyte habitat in Gascon patois. From the outside, this Château is distinguished by its neo-Gothic turret and its two lime trees, standing proudly in front of the house.
HAUTE-COUTURE WINE
Located behind the southern ramparts of the village of Saint-Émilion, this very old vineyard is formed of a patchwork of compact terraces resting on limestone plateaux and a clay-limestone slope. With a planting density of 6000 vines per hectare, the fifty-year-old vines enjoy southern exposure and are sheltered from the prevailing winds. Since it was bought in 2014, significant investment has been made in the cellar and vineyard. Based on plot selection, the wine of La Clotte is the result of manual harvesting, meticulous sorting of the harvest, gravity-flow grape reception, manual punching down and then submerged-cap maceration in stainless-steel tanks. Malolactic fermentation in oak is followed by around 18 months’ ageing in new barrels. The blend contains a large majority of Merlot, around 85%, complemented by Cabernet Franc.
Beyond the vintage effect, it is a rare wine due to the size of the vineyard and haute couture through its ability to combine elegant tannins with the voluptuous character that is so typical of Saint-Émilion. La Clotte produces wines with long ageing potential.
This cru includes a very small vineyard of 3.5 hectares and cellars carved from the limestone rock of St. Emilion, and has been owned by the Vauthier family (Ch. Ausone) since 2014. It has a magnificent piece of predominantly clay-limestone terroir, located right next to Ch. Pavie Macquin in the center of St. Emilion. Yields are kept very low (30hl/ha) and ripening takes place just as with Ch. Ausone on 85% new oak.
The 2018 La Clotte consists of 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. Deep purple-black in color, it jumps out of the glass with cozy scents of crushed blueberries, Morello cherries and black raspberries with hints of oolong tea, violets, mocha and cigar box plus a hint of cedarwood. Full-bodied with a firm frame of fine-grained tannins and lots of freshness, packed with vibrant black and blue fruit layers, with a long finish with great purity.
| Type of Wine | Red |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Bordeaux |
| Appellation | Saint-Emillion |
| Winery | Chateau La Clotte |
| Grape | Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot |
| Biological certified | No |
| Natural wine | No |
| Vegan | No |
| Vintage | 2018 |
| Drinking as of | 2022 |
| Drinking till | 2040 |
| Alcohol % | 13.5 |
| Alcohol free/low | No |
| Content | 0.75 ltr |
| Oak aging | Yes |
| Sparkling | No |
| Dessert wine | No |
| Closure | Cork |
| Parker rating | 95 |
| James Suckling rating | 94 |
| Vinous rating | 96 |
Parker
The Wine Advocate
RP (93-95)
Reviewed by:
Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2018 La Clotte is made up of 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. Deep purple-black in color, it leaps from the glass with gregarious scents of crushed blueberries, Morello cherries and black raspberries with touches of oolong tea, violets, mocha and cigar box plus a waft of cedar. Full-bodied with a solid frame of fine-grained tannins and oodles of freshness, it is packed with vibrant black and blue fruits layers, finishing long with great purity.
I didn’t have much of a chance to speak with Alain and Pauline Vauthier during my visit for primeurs. It was a crazy busy day at Ausone when I came—the place completely crammed with anxious visitors from all over the world waiting to taste. That was fine though, because I was at Ausone back in October when Pauline was managing the 2018 fermentations and had a chance to head into the winery with her then to see her method of “gentle infusion” in action; it involves a very clever means of using a forklift to gravity feed the juice onto the skin cap and allowing it to slowly trickle down through the skins. Tasting the 2018s during primeurs, I was overcome with the very satisfying sense that she absolutely nailed it back then.
Château Ausone—one of the most envied vineyards in all of Bordeaux—truly excelled itself in 2018. Perched on Saint-Émilion’s famous limestone plateau and calcareous clay slope, it clearly showed its pedigree under 2018’s challenging conditions. The Vauthiers have produced a wine from this place and time that is at once intense, superbly nuanced and bursting with energy but has a rock-solid structure of perfectly ripe tannins. And it has tons of freshness that comes firstly from maintaining the vineyard’s signature low pH. (The pH was 3.65 this year, a little high for Ausone, but still incredible considering how many wines are over 3.8.) Secondly, that freshness comes from sparks of bright, crunchy fruit intermingled with rich, seductive layers. The alcohol, at 14.5%, grounds all the otherwise ethereal components with well-poised gravitas. Astonishingly great wine—brava!
Published: Apr 23, 2019
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
James Suckling
CHÂTEAU LA CLOTTE ST.-EMILION 2018
Thursday, April 11, 2019
Country : France
Region : Bordeaux
Vintage : 2018
Score : 93-94
A tight and firm red with dark berries and wet earth. Medium-bodied, racy and bright. Shows tension and structure for the vintage.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Vinous
(93-96)
From: Bordeaux 2018: Back in Black (Apr 2019)
The 2018 La Clotte is fabulous. In fact, I don’t remember a recent vintage that has been anywhere near as compelling as the 2018. Striking aromatics give the 2018 dimension and nuance. On the palate, the wine is every bit as arresting in its beauty. Rose petal, mint, sage, lavender and blood orange add vivacity throughout. The Franc really comes through in the wine's aromatic profile and saline-infused finish. I loved it.
- By Antonio Galloni on April 2019
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Exclusive Content
Sign in to unlock professional wine reviews from world-renowned critics
With just 4 hectares, this property has a very long history that takes us back to the 16th century and the illustrious de Grailly family. La Clotte is also marked by its geography, that of a building leaning against the side of a cliff and concealing deep labyrinths. This feature gave it its name, La Clotte, meaning a small troglodyte habitat in Gascon patois. From the outside, this Château is distinguished by its neo-Gothic turret and its two lime trees, standing proudly in front of the house.
HAUTE-COUTURE WINE
Located behind the southern ramparts of the village of Saint-Émilion, this very old vineyard is formed of a patchwork of compact terraces resting on limestone plateaux and a clay-limestone slope. With a planting density of 6000 vines per hectare, the fifty-year-old vines enjoy southern exposure and are sheltered from the prevailing winds. Since it was bought in 2014, significant investment has been made in the cellar and vineyard. Based on plot selection, the wine of La Clotte is the result of manual harvesting, meticulous sorting of the harvest, gravity-flow grape reception, manual punching down and then submerged-cap maceration in stainless-steel tanks. Malolactic fermentation in oak is followed by around 18 months’ ageing in new barrels. The blend contains a large majority of Merlot, around 85%, complemented by Cabernet Franc.
Beyond the vintage effect, it is a rare wine due to the size of the vineyard and haute couture through its ability to combine elegant tannins with the voluptuous character that is so typical of Saint-Émilion. La Clotte produces wines with long ageing potential.