Background: Group of 5 Family members tasted 5 young 2020 Bordeaux, all from different AOCs. Wines Tasted: Clos Fourtet, Château Clinet, Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Château Pontet-Canet, Château Brane-Cantenac.
The Clinet was the favorite of three tasters, and a top three pick of all of the others. Beautiful flavors of mint, herbs and tobacco, complemented by an oddly pleasing damp concrete profile.
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Lovely dark fruited nose and palate. The oak adds quite a bit of spice. Needs time to integrate for sure. Lovely persistence and finish. Surprised by the ABV, holds it quite nice.
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Elegance, refinement, and silky textures are the hallmarks of this wine. The perfume, with its licorice, flowers, mint leaves, smoke, cherries, and plums is what initially brings you in. But it is the purity of the fruit, the sensuous textures, and the opulent, graceful palate feeling that steals the show. The seamless, non-stop finish balances freshness with hedonism with its multiple layers of lusty fruits, and chocolate, with a touch of refreshing spearmint in the finish. The finish really sticks with you, which is a good thing because you never want this voluptuous stunner to end. As a side note, even though the wine clocks in at 15% AVB, there is no touch of heat or jammy qualities. Drink from 2026-2055.
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Tasting Bordeaux 2020. Clinet is one of the best wines in this tasting. Tres Merlot, very smooth, medium bodied. very good potential.
Some more notes out of 100+ wines at this tasting;
Pichon Lalande: clearly one of the great wines of the vintage, polished, great depth, rich Leoville Poyferre: very good balance between fruit and tannins, rich black fruit, lovely wine, really promising Leoville Barton: Slightly richer than the Poyferre even. Strong showing here. Lovely wine Saint Pierre, Medium bodied, very velvet De Pez: remarkably appealing this year Haut Bailly: Very classic, classy, impressive. one of the true winners Valandraud: rather dry tannins, very tight, closed Beychevelle: some were really a fan. For me the wine really lacked complexity
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The 2020 vintage UGCB tasting in Amsterdam 03/06/2023 (Amsterdam): This good wine with a certain severity in the first impression, than followed by some creaminess in the midtaste, has a medium concentration and refined bitters and tannins in the good aftertaste. It could have been the bottle, but there was no real exitement for me.
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Clinet has a serious showing with the 2020 vintage, black, coffee-filled, pretty stern stuff - but richly enough fruited that when it unwinds (which will take some time), though should be very enjoyable indeed.
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At the UGC Chicago. Strong fragrance with fruit and oak, fruit and oak on the palate with the oak already nicely integrated. Elegant structure that adds to your enjoyment of the wine and a long expansive aftertaste. Per the representative from the Chateau a blend if 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet. One of my favorite wines of the evening.
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UGCB New York Tasting. sampled several times over 2 hours. This is the real deal. One of three WOTNs for me alongside Pavie Macquin and Valandraud. Clinet cuts the difference between them with Val being the most hedonistic and PM being more elegant. All three are excellent and will have long lovely decades of joy. Clinet offers juice, structure, silky mouthfeel and a long finish. Thats all I can recall after tasting 50-60 wines.
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I loved this Clinet. Couldn't help but compare it to the Valandraud for some reason but whereas this tasted more Bordeaux, the Valandraud tasted more hedonistic and rich. Both were enjoyable but my palate prefers this. Really excited to have picked some up. All in all I enjoyed most, if not all of the Pomerol I tasted.
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(80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon) Reiffruchtig, rauchig, mit viel schwarzer Kirsche, Pflaumen, dazu Weihnachtsgewürze, florale Töne. Kräftiger Gaumen, fast schon zwei Mund voll Wein, sehr viel Fleisch auf den Rippen, dabei aber nicht überladen, sehr gute Struktur, auch viel Alkohol. Sehr langer Abgang, komplexes Retroaroma. Kein Baletttänzer, ein mächtiger Bursche ist das. 2025-2045 (Verkostet am 8. November 2022 in Zürich) www.vvwine.ch
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Arvi Bordeaux 2020 Arrivage (Dolder Grand, Zurich): Bordeaux 2020 Arrivage tasting. Key observations: 1/ Tannins were generally soft and well-integrated, but still left room for structure, 2/ fruit generally ripe and well-defined, no over-extraction, 3/ all appellation were showing great, but if I had to pick out then it would be Paulliac, 4/ top wines were Petit Village (completely unexpected, 97) and Lynch Bages (96).
Tasting note: Ripe red cherry fruit, mineral notes of graphite, floral elements, cedar wood and earth. Velvety texture, fresh and fruity with a long finish and adding darker cherries to the mix on the palate. Solid, nice complexity, but not quite the homerun like 2019 I found.
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92-94 vvPunkte (80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon) Reiffruchtige Nase, eingekochte Krischen, Pflaumen darüber florale Töne, Süssholz, Zimt, Kokos. Der Gaumen ist mächtig, wuchtig, üppig, der Wein hat einiges an Speck auf den Rippen, die Struktur kontert die reife Frucht, zwingt diese gerade auf dem Parkett zu stehen, doch durch diese schiere Kraft scheint der Wein stets ausbrechen zu wollen. Im Abgang mit grosser aromatischer Länge, versteckt seine hohen Alkoholwerte jedoch nicht. 2025-2040 (April/Mai 2021)
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Deep and dark in color, the perfume instantly shoots out its notes of flowers, spearmint, licorice, plums, black cherry, smoke and espresso. Full-bodied, velvety, opulent, sensuous and sexy, the wine is dense, long and silky on your palate. The finish really sticks with you, which is a good thing because you never want this voluptuous stunner to end. The fruits show a remarkable sense of purity, leaving you with over 50 seconds of hedonistic pleasure. This is the best Clinet since 2010. The wine is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% AVB, 3.7 pH, with no touch of heat. The harvest took place September 14, finishing September 23. 97-99
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80%M/20%CS 15.5% alc Dunkles Purpur. Nase wuchtig auf Kirsche, Vanille. Gaumen: Amarenakirsche, reife Mirabelle, dunkle Schokolade, milder Espresso. Langer Abgang auf Kokosnuss, Zimt und hellem Tabak. Eine Wuchtbrumme, keineswegs aber süss. Der Alkohol ist nicht einmal besonders störend (besser aber nicht zu sehr erwärmen! Maximal 17°). Trotz der Wucht ein recht straffer Wein, der seine Liebhaber (etwa solche von Petite Syrah aus dem Napa Valley) finden wird. Ein Gutenacht-Wein erster Güte!
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Tasted En-Primeur on 26-04-2021 in a tasting with 125 wines of the 2020 Bordeaux Vintage. Served in the same flight as 2020 Château Gazin. Incredible nose, plum and dark chocolate. The taste is full-bodied yet energetic and bright. Really sexy... 96-98
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Opaque Classy nose: plush and polished oak, gorgeous, svelte, blue and purple fruits, black cherry and a little crunch – all very precise and well defined. This feels so well put together, it is modern and shows some oak, the fruit is gorgeous, it has excellent intensity and offers a little bite. Perfectly fresh, nicely balanced, impressively long, showing some new oak on the finish. Brilliant stuff.
8/12/2023 - MaineMark Likes this wine:
Background: Group of 5 Family members tasted 5 young 2020 Bordeaux, all from different AOCs. Wines Tasted: Clos Fourtet, Château Clinet, Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Château Pontet-Canet, Château Brane-Cantenac.
The Clinet was the favorite of three tasters, and a top three pick of all of the others. Beautiful flavors of mint, herbs and tobacco, complemented by an oddly pleasing damp concrete profile.
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6/17/2023 - Shugs_Claret wrote: 94 Points
Lovely dark fruited nose and palate. The oak adds quite a bit of spice. Needs time to integrate for sure. Lovely persistence and finish. Surprised by the ABV, holds it quite nice.
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3/21/2023 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
Elegance, refinement, and silky textures are the hallmarks of this wine. The perfume, with its licorice, flowers, mint leaves, smoke, cherries, and plums is what initially brings you in. But it is the purity of the fruit, the sensuous textures, and the opulent, graceful palate feeling that steals the show. The seamless, non-stop finish balances freshness with hedonism with its multiple layers of lusty fruits, and chocolate, with a touch of refreshing spearmint in the finish. The finish really sticks with you, which is a good thing because you never want this voluptuous stunner to end. As a side note, even though the wine clocks in at 15% AVB, there is no touch of heat or jammy qualities. Drink from 2026-2055.
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3/12/2023 - Ozen Likes this wine: 94 Points
Tasting Bordeaux 2020. Clinet is one of the best wines in this tasting. Tres Merlot, very smooth, medium bodied. very good potential.
Some more notes out of 100+ wines at this tasting;
Pichon Lalande: clearly one of the great wines of the vintage, polished, great depth, rich
Leoville Poyferre: very good balance between fruit and tannins, rich black fruit, lovely wine, really promising
Leoville Barton: Slightly richer than the Poyferre even. Strong showing here. Lovely wine
Saint Pierre, Medium bodied, very velvet
De Pez: remarkably appealing this year
Haut Bailly: Very classic, classy, impressive. one of the true winners
Valandraud: rather dry tannins, very tight, closed
Beychevelle: some were really a fan. For me the wine really lacked complexity
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3/6/2023 - Zweder wrote: 97 Points
UGCB tasting Bordeaux 2020 Walkaround tasting so in general just short notes (Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam.): Beautiful wine with red and dark berries, beautiful oak and cedar. Same on the palate, some smoke, beautiful acidity and tannin. Overall a very luxurious wine which was one of my favorites of the tasting. Great length and future. Try around 2032. 96 - 97+
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3/6/2023 - FransS wrote: 93 Points
The 2020 vintage UGCB tasting in Amsterdam 03/06/2023 (Amsterdam): This good wine with a certain severity in the first impression, than followed by some creaminess in the midtaste, has a medium concentration and refined bitters and tannins in the good aftertaste.
It could have been the bottle, but there was no real exitement for me.
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1/29/2023 - englishman's claret wrote:
Clinet has a serious showing with the 2020 vintage, black, coffee-filled, pretty stern stuff - but richly enough fruited that when it unwinds (which will take some time), though should be very enjoyable indeed.
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1/26/2023 - Roger Patterson wrote: 90 Points
Understated elegance on the nose; rich on the palate with full body and well resolved tannins. A little high alcohol and medium tannins. At UGC LA.
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1/25/2023 - Cellarmauz Likes this wine: 94 Points
At the UGC Chicago. Strong fragrance with fruit and oak, fruit and oak on the palate with the oak already nicely integrated. Elegant structure that adds to your enjoyment of the wine and a long expansive aftertaste. Per the representative from the Chateau a blend if 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet. One of my favorite wines of the evening.
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1/24/2023 - Gen NY Likes this wine: 98 Points
UGCB New York Tasting. sampled several times over 2 hours. This is the real deal. One of three WOTNs for me alongside Pavie Macquin and Valandraud. Clinet cuts the difference between them with Val being the most hedonistic and PM being more elegant. All three are excellent and will have long lovely decades of joy. Clinet offers juice, structure, silky mouthfeel and a long finish. Thats all I can recall after tasting 50-60 wines.
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1/20/2023 - mfimiani47 Likes this wine: 95 Points
I loved this Clinet. Couldn't help but compare it to the Valandraud for some reason but whereas this tasted more Bordeaux, the Valandraud tasted more hedonistic and rich. Both were enjoyable but my palate prefers this. Really excited to have picked some up. All in all I enjoyed most, if not all of the Pomerol I tasted.
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1/9/2023 - vvWine.ch wrote: 94 Points
(80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon) Reiffruchtig, rauchig, mit viel schwarzer Kirsche, Pflaumen, dazu Weihnachtsgewürze, florale Töne. Kräftiger Gaumen, fast schon zwei Mund voll Wein, sehr viel Fleisch auf den Rippen, dabei aber nicht überladen, sehr gute Struktur, auch viel Alkohol. Sehr langer Abgang, komplexes Retroaroma. Kein Baletttänzer, ein mächtiger Bursche ist das. 2025-2045 (Verkostet am 8. November 2022 in Zürich) www.vvwine.ch
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11/8/2022 - sirpat00 wrote: 94 Points
Arvi Bordeaux 2020 Arrivage (Dolder Grand, Zurich): Bordeaux 2020 Arrivage tasting. Key observations: 1/ Tannins were generally soft and well-integrated, but still left room for structure, 2/ fruit generally ripe and well-defined, no over-extraction, 3/ all appellation were showing great, but if I had to pick out then it would be Paulliac, 4/ top wines were Petit Village (completely unexpected, 97) and Lynch Bages (96).
Tasting note:
Ripe red cherry fruit, mineral notes of graphite, floral elements, cedar wood and earth. Velvety texture, fresh and fruity with a long finish and adding darker cherries to the mix on the palate. Solid, nice complexity, but not quite the homerun like 2019 I found.
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5/22/2021 - vvWine.ch wrote: 93 Points
92-94 vvPunkte (80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon) Reiffruchtige Nase, eingekochte Krischen, Pflaumen darüber florale Töne, Süssholz, Zimt, Kokos. Der Gaumen ist mächtig, wuchtig, üppig, der Wein hat einiges an Speck auf den Rippen, die Struktur kontert die reife Frucht, zwingt diese gerade auf dem Parkett zu stehen, doch durch diese schiere Kraft scheint der Wein stets ausbrechen zu wollen. Im Abgang mit grosser aromatischer Länge, versteckt seine hohen Alkoholwerte jedoch nicht. 2025-2040 (April/Mai 2021)
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5/20/2021 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
Deep and dark in color, the perfume instantly shoots out its notes of flowers, spearmint, licorice, plums, black cherry, smoke and espresso. Full-bodied, velvety, opulent, sensuous and sexy, the wine is dense, long and silky on your palate. The finish really sticks with you, which is a good thing because you never want this voluptuous stunner to end. The fruits show a remarkable sense of purity, leaving you with over 50 seconds of hedonistic pleasure. This is the best Clinet since 2010. The wine is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% AVB, 3.7 pH, with no touch of heat. The harvest took place September 14, finishing September 23. 97-99
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4/29/2021 - Léognan Likes this wine: 94 Points
80%M/20%CS 15.5% alc
Dunkles Purpur. Nase wuchtig auf Kirsche, Vanille. Gaumen: Amarenakirsche, reife Mirabelle, dunkle Schokolade, milder Espresso. Langer Abgang auf Kokosnuss, Zimt und hellem Tabak. Eine Wuchtbrumme, keineswegs aber süss. Der Alkohol ist nicht einmal besonders störend (besser aber nicht zu sehr erwärmen! Maximal 17°). Trotz der Wucht ein recht straffer Wein, der seine Liebhaber (etwa solche von Petite Syrah aus dem Napa Valley) finden wird. Ein Gutenacht-Wein erster Güte!
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4/26/2021 - dvansteenderen Likes this wine: 97 Points
Tasted En-Primeur on 26-04-2021 in a tasting with 125 wines of the 2020 Bordeaux Vintage.
Served in the same flight as 2020 Château Gazin.
Incredible nose, plum and dark chocolate. The taste is full-bodied yet energetic and bright. Really sexy...
96-98
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4/22/2021 - Shrewsram Likes this wine: 95 Points
Opaque
Classy nose: plush and polished oak, gorgeous, svelte, blue and purple fruits, black cherry and a little crunch – all very precise and well defined. This feels so well put together, it is modern and shows some oak, the fruit is gorgeous, it has excellent intensity and offers a little bite. Perfectly fresh, nicely balanced, impressively long, showing some new oak on the finish. Brilliant stuff.
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