Quite leathery nose with earth, some brett, and cherries. Similar notes on the palate with a distinct tobacco character and more earthy / forest-y flavors. Good finish. A nice wine, maybe missing a bit of fruit to balance out the earthy flavors.
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Took a good 90 min of air to come around. The nose never really got going and delivered faint dark fruit, earth, blood and touch of violet. The palate was much more enjoyable with plenty of sweet dark fruit and loads of violet. Nice balance and medium depth.
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Old cedar chest for wood, green bell pepper for fruit, clay from soil, meat and blood from graceful decay. This wine is soft, resolved and very giving, but it has no energy inside. Right now, its is relying on acidity to drive length as the tannins are melted within the old wine. Lovely bouquet, this needs to be served in Burgundy glasses by a fire with a Cohiba....DRINK
Masculine and mature, this is showing its Merlot character with honor for an old wine connoisseur, looking for this style. Melted green bell peppers all throughout a cedar laden, earthy, yet soft red wine. On the downswing, this had medium length, but lots of presence in the mouth. Lovely as you can imagine if you like these types of old gems. DRINK!
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Difficult to rate. While it wasn't overtly flawed, I won't assign a score, as this is clearly not a representative bottle. It just lacked fruit and life on the palate. Far from the potential that this wine can deliver.
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What a lovely place 1985 Pomerols seem to occupy, having reached an age where their naturally ripe-fruited personalities have been accented with the trappings of age. This opens with a tremendous lead-pencil nose and with a few hours of air, settles into a plummy, black-fruited, truffle, mineral profile. Just delightful. Full-ish on the palate, but really no excess weight. The balance is perfect, the finish long and smoky. I ought to cross the river more often. This has many years left ahead, being really only in middle age at the moment.
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Right-Bank Classicals (Dobbs Ferry, Dale's House): Here I was in the minority as I thought this was terrific in a semi-stern, semi-austere style. I had that black tea-like quality to the tannins that I prize in old school claret. Good fruit and length with that old school austerity. B+/A-
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Fully mature, and not quite the level as the last bottle, but at this age, both the wine and I, anything can happen. On the nose, truffle, olive, earth, forest floor and plums were right there. Soft and gentle in texture, the fruit was mixed with herbs, earth and olive, adding old school character to the dark, cherry notes. There is no reason to age this classic, evolved Pomerol any longer. Drink up.
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This bottle cork had some streaking but solid and no evidence of a problem. Immediately upon opening the wine was very tight. Nose lacked fruit and was very barrel like with must. Wine was NOT corked or flawed but just needed extensive air time to open. Approximately 3-4 hours.
Once opened the wine was filled with dark fruit and dark chocolate on the palate but with a shorter finish than expected. It had relatively high acidity and tanins on the finish. It was difficult to find the structure and balance. I have had some very classic Bordeaux similar to this but the wine was a bit under whelming. However, the wine paired with with Beef Wellington, broccoli souffle and mushroom medley.
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A super bottle of this wine, much better than the previous bottle from a months ago. Decadent, sexy textures, aromas of truffle, black cherry, dark chocolate and black cherry liqueur and a sensuous, earthy finish hit as soon as the wine was popped and poured.
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I had this wine a couple times and it's not a consistent performer. This night it was less than stellar with the fruit not quite carrying enough warmth or length.
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Excellent showing, was quite generous and decidedly better than the prior time where it was drunk without aeration. We drank it out of a burgundy glass fwiw.
Aromas of blueberries, blackberries and oak. It might be the most concentrated 85 and still offers a wealth of fruit with a good mid palate and finish. There's a nice sweetness to the fruit...which is more red/blue than blue/black, plus some earthy notes
I'd drink this over the next few years if you have it, the tannins are still present and I'm guessing if the fruit softens it won't be an improvement
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Dinner for 30 year olds (Ponsonby, Auckland, New Zealand): Superb Pomerol in perfect condition. Cedar, plums, earth, a touch of funk, leather and highly complex bottle age character make for an inviting experience. In the mouth, beautiful fruit, medium bodied, multi-dimensional, gorgeous merlot fruit. This has always been one of the best Pomerols from 1985 and it is still wonderful - so refined and a snapshot of beautiful fruit harvested three decades ago. No hurry to drink this. Extraordinary for me and the table's pick for wine of the night, although I had a slight preference for the magnificent Beaucastel 1985....
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°°° Bordeaux 1985 °°° (Emmen, Switzerland): Deep clear red. Shows anise and leather. Still plenty of power, smooth tannins, elegant and long. Nice balance, sweetness and well integrated acidity. Now fully mature but well stored bottles should be nice to drink for another 10-20 years.
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Not quite as good as the last bottle from the same case, this bottle showed some gruffness to the tannins in the otherwise, plummy, cherry and chocolate finish. Slightly more interesting on the truffle centric palate, this is fully mature.
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85 Claret (La Trompette, London): Blind. A touch of spice. Nicely floral. Quite plush. Rich. Persistent with a touch of liquorice on the finish. Again, lovely wine. Ducru maybe? ****
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Plum, truffles, ripe & sweet tannins, kirsch, medium weight and long finish! Fully matured now; still can age for 10-15 years. One of the finest vintage for L'Eglise Clinet in the 80's.
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1985 eglise Clinet Color: still vibrant red with bricking Nose: ouch, very ole skol but if you like old cupboards then you will like this wine but for me over the hill Palate: disjointed and has some fruits but this may have some bottle issue with a protruding cork, think not a representative bottle Rating: 88
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Powerful nose of mokka, coffee, chocolate, lactic, ripe dark cherries, hint of smoke, licorice, mine de crayon, hint of menthol...powerful ripe red cherries, very long aftertaste, very silky tannins, perfect acidity, hint of peperonis.. great aged Pomerol!
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Bordeaux 1985 as main theme (@ Bottles; Sas van Gent, Netherlands): No specific notes. This is a beautiful and mature Pomerol. Creamy and everything in beautiful harmony. Completely ready now and I wonder if the drinking window until 2030 in Cellartracker is realistic. I wouldn’t wait that long. The wine is at its peak now.
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The last bottle must have been flawed. Great dark fruit, violet, chocolate. Sweet, ripe red and black fruit on the palate. Excellent balance and medium++ finish. Mature and with lots of fruit.
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Fully mature, with a nose of chocolate, plums, flowers and truffle, the silky wine feels great when it slides across your palate, finishing with rich layers of plum, black raspberry and just a minor hint of tartness. This is definitely drinking in the sweet spot of life. The debut vintage for Denis Durantou has truly shaped up nicely. If you own it, pop a cork.
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Either we caught this wine at the perfect moment, the bottle was flawless, or both, clearly, this fully mature L'Eglise Clinet is a sublime bottle of Pomerol. Truffle, earth, black cherries, tobacco and floral notes led to a silky, round, velvet textured wine that ended with layers of ripe, opulent berries. There is no reason to wait to pop a cork on this stellar wine.
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Decanted and drank over 4 hours. Initially we thought something was up with this bottle, as the nose was muddled and never really came together. Old seashells and salsa? The palate displayed dark fruit, earth, plum and violets. Black cherry. Shorter angular finish.
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Enjoyed at a dinner party. This was very youthful. I didnt open it but my guess is that it was open for a couple hours prior to embibing, but was not decanted. I would certainly buy more of this, if the price was right.
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Nicely bricking beautiful blood red, no purple. Very complex nose; red berry fruit, mint, malted milk, highly mineral with iron filings, a little bit of asparagus (in good control); with air a saline, oyster shell note appears. Palate firmly structured and masculine, but really nicely balanced; velvet. Mature, but not going anywhere soon! Medium bodied, with a long, grippy finish of beef bouillon, cranberry, and pomegranate. In a good place. (Dinner with SK -- thanks!)
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opened a 71 Trotanoy, spectrum buy, 433, ouch. 2 bottles. tried my best to say it was ok, wife said awful, opened this as the replacement. Sure better than that trot, but not jumping for joy over the 6 bottles i have left of this
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Won 3 bottles at auction last week here in San Fran. I wsa concerned about the hit-or-miss reviews, so thought I crack one right away.
Decanted for 2 hours and BAM, fabulous. Cork was firm; but some sediment in the glass.
Took a sip right after pouring and it was very alcohol forward. Calmed down after I let it breathe through 49er's second half and am now enjoying for afternoon Raiders game. Full fruit, firm tannins with a chocolate, blackberry nose. Nice long finish with cherry notes
This is a great wine with years to go.
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Earth, plums, dark chocolate, roses and an array spices produce an exciting perfume. Supple, round and opulent in texture, this rich, sexy Pomerol ends with a long, sweet red and black plum, black cherry and cocoa filed finish. The wines being made by Denis Durantou today at Chateau L'Eglise Clinet are even better than the previous generation of older wines from the famous Pomerol chateau. I can't wait to taste them at maturity.
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85 Eglise Clinet seems to have a lot of bottle variation. I have had bottles that showed an unripe, slightly green component while other bottles have shown incredibly youthful and offered an intense Pomerol experience. Bacchus was on our side with Last night, the wine Gods were on our side because this was a great bottle! Served blind, everyone felt the wine was from the mid 90’s or younger! Intense aromatics accompanied by a huge dose of concentrated plum, black and red fruits. The finish was close to 45 seconds.
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This is so thick, I had to decide if I wanted to eat it or drink it! This is the real deal. The color is a dark, opaque, purple with no signs of lightening. The wine was compared with two other Pomerol wines from the same tasting icluding, L'Evangile and Certan de May. The wine remains youthful and still is not offering secondary aromas. Of the three 85 Pomerols, it showed the most improvement with time in the glass. Thick, unctuous, rich and concentrated almost beyond belief. Pure, ripe, black fruit notes and the essence of plums coat every nook and cranny of your palate. The texture is plush, opulent and extraordinarily rich.
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UK Wine-pages Pomerol Off-line (The Alba, London): When first poured this briefly showed it's complex, spicy, tobaccoey, if slightly funky class before becoming quickly subdued, and then slightly corky on the palate with a stripped finish. A real shame - clear case of low level cork taint.
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1985 Dinner (Chez Bruce London): Drunk at 1985 Dinner, Chez Bruce, London Dark and opaque wine, black fruits and somewhat barney on the nose...very full bodied and thick in the mouth , dark fruit flavor but i found it a bit stemmy and lead like...after about an hour or so in the glass it was becoming more pleasant, i think this is one to come back to in a few years
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Funk, green pepper, and dirt dominate the nose, while tough tannins dominate the flavor. I have been assured by people who say they know something that this is a great wine. I just don't get it.
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The color displays a medium shade of ruby with a slight amber at the edge. On the nose, notes of chocolate covered blackberries, figs, spices and an hour later, aromas of truffles. The palate shows a great viscous mouth texture that puts on weight throughout the night. The flavors displayed on the palate include ripe red & black fruits, raspberries, cherries and a hint of mint in the finish. 85 Eglise Clinet is close to full maturity, but it has a bit of tannin to resolve in the finish.
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HDH Pre-Auction Tasting Highlights (Chicago IL): Wine tasting. Black cherry on nose and palate. Big fruit works well with integrated structure, but the finish is short and one dimensional.
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A controversial wine the night we had it (I think it was a combination of Rob's grumpy mood and his general fussy-pants attitude towards Bordeaux in general : )), I have no doubt this is a profound wine. It was poured after a number of great wines, and more than held its own. The initial sensation on the nose was extremely pleasant, and as one delves deeper, there is graphite, forest floor, cloves, and tobacco. Excellent structure in the mouth with many years ahead of it. No controversy for this taster.
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Chateau L'Eglise-Clinet Vertical (Bentley Hotel, London): The tiniest bit of bricking, A real bretty nose, a great combination of horse sweat and shit. Very concentrated, deep vibrant fruit, lovely freshness, and supple tannin.
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This was a truly memorable wine, and the more so because it did not quite fit my preferred Bordeaux flavor profile (Pauillac or Graves). Great intermingling flavors of tobacco, kirsch liqueur, licorice, and stones. There was tremendous development in the glass over two hours or so, and I agree with earlier comments that this is drinking beautifully now but has a long life and further evolution ahead of it still.
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Decanted for us by the Sommelier at La Folie. Immediate big nose of tobacco, earth, cloves, and merlot fruit. The color was still a purplish red, with very little thinning at the rim. The palate was redolent of berries from the summer. The mid palate showed a very big and smooth mouth-filling viscosity. The tannins were mostly resolved, but there was enough structure left to indicate this wine still has many years ahead of it. A smooth and pleasurable finish. I was very impressed with this wine until we finished up with the last bottle of the night: Cheval Blanc '83! (Dinner with JB, Phyllis and Jane).
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Jim’s bottle, at Jeneiro. No resemblance to the bottles I purchased. Structured, intense and long. Very intense. Black fruits. Oak well integrated. Young. Outstanding.
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The next wine opened was Ch. L'Eglise Clinet 1985 - drunk with a salmon dish with polenta and maderia sauce taken from the Le Bernadin cookbook. The match was quite good, though the fish did bring to the fore the slight iron charaters that great pomerol seems to display - at any rate I liked it. The wine itself is out of this world - drinking well with the afore mentioned iron - lots of plum, leather, earth and sucullent berries. Is mature but based on this showing should continue to age and evolve for decades. Easily the best 85 Pomerol I have drunk (including Petrus and Lafleur drunk last year - I have not tasted any of the other major contenders) The most enjoyable bordeaux I have had in my mouth for the whole year! 98pnts
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Brown Derby bottle, purchased 10 years ago. Huge and powerful, young and tannic. Very dark to the rim, too. Aromatic, mouth coating, chewy. Really intense. Impressive.
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Tasting 8 1985 Bordeaux (Walnut Creek, Ca.): Nice, rich nose, vanilla nose, merlot hints, veryrich, full throttle merlot here, very soft tannins, needs 5 years to peak, beautiful finish with licorice notes, lots of flavors here. My #3.
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At home at dinner (pasta with tomato and green olive sauce). Impressive dark ruby color, with thick tears, smelling of new oak and smoky fruit. Rich, majestic fruit on the palate. Still a youngster, just beginning to show its stuff. Went very well with the pasta, which seemed to bring out its flesh. 5-11-16-8: 90/100.
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very purple - rich deep colour - outstanding aroma of buttery sweet vanilla fruit cake and stewed plums - very opulent and hedonistic. mouthfilling cinnamon plummy flavours - rich texture with perfect acidity - ripe smooth tannins - quite burgundian. July Wine options practice tasting. Very Different to Petrus in taste (sweeter, more plummy - maybe less "serious" without the bracing tannic structure of Petrus.
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With MPL, BLR and Diane at my house. Medium-dark ruby. Very red. Oaky aroma, plenty of fruit. Tobacco complexity. Lots of merlot character. On the palate, initially very tannic, softened with airing. Plenty of merlot fruit; mellow oak overtones. Long on the palate. Plump wine-should be great in time when the tannin subsides. 5-11-16-9: 91/100.
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10/29/2022 - glou.sf Likes this wine: 93 Points
Quite leathery nose with earth, some brett, and cherries. Similar notes on the palate with a distinct tobacco character and more earthy / forest-y flavors. Good finish. A nice wine, maybe missing a bit of fruit to balance out the earthy flavors.
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1/9/2022 - johnh1001 wrote: 92 Points
Took a good 90 min of air to come around. The nose never really got going and delivered faint dark fruit, earth, blood and touch of violet. The palate was much more enjoyable with plenty of sweet dark fruit and loads of violet. Nice balance and medium depth.
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9/11/2021 - Purple Tooth wrote: 93 Points
Old cedar chest for wood, green bell pepper for fruit, clay from soil, meat and blood from graceful decay. This wine is soft, resolved and very giving, but it has no energy inside. Right now, its is relying on acidity to drive length as the tannins are melted within the old wine. Lovely bouquet, this needs to be served in Burgundy glasses by a fire with a Cohiba....DRINK
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6/18/2021 - LB88 wrote: 93 Points
This was a perfectly elegant drink with well resolved tannins and some tertiary flavours starting to develop. Will potentially get better.
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1/1/2020 - Purple Tooth wrote: 93 Points
Masculine and mature, this is showing its Merlot character with honor for an old wine connoisseur, looking for this style. Melted green bell peppers all throughout a cedar laden, earthy, yet soft red wine. On the downswing, this had medium length, but lots of presence in the mouth. Lovely as you can imagine if you like these types of old gems. DRINK!
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2/3/2019 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: flawed
Difficult to rate. While it wasn't overtly flawed, I won't assign a score, as this is clearly not a representative bottle. It just lacked fruit and life on the palate. Far from the potential that this wine can deliver.
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1/1/2018 - englishman's claret wrote: 95 Points
What a lovely place 1985 Pomerols seem to occupy, having reached an age where their naturally ripe-fruited personalities have been accented with the trappings of age. This opens with a tremendous lead-pencil nose and with a few hours of air, settles into a plummy, black-fruited, truffle, mineral profile. Just delightful. Full-ish on the palate, but really no excess weight. The balance is perfect, the finish long and smoky. I ought to cross the river more often. This has many years left ahead, being really only in middle age at the moment.
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12/9/2017 - blanquito wrote:
Right-Bank Classicals (Dobbs Ferry, Dale's House): Here I was in the minority as I thought this was terrific in a semi-stern, semi-austere style. I had that black tea-like quality to the tannins that I prize in old school claret. Good fruit and length with that old school austerity. B+/A-
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6/3/2017 - Malarky997 Likes this wine: 96 Points
My drinking companion thought this bottle still had legs to it; longer even than the 1998 Chateau Latour we also enjoyed that evening.
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5/20/2017 - Jeff Leve wrote: 93 Points
Fully mature, and not quite the level as the last bottle, but at this age, both the wine and I, anything can happen. On the nose, truffle, olive, earth, forest floor and plums were right there. Soft and gentle in texture, the fruit was mixed with herbs, earth and olive, adding old school character to the dark, cherry notes. There is no reason to age this classic, evolved Pomerol any longer. Drink up.
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4/8/2017 - Malarky997 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Excellent
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12/26/2016 - BillyT wrote: 91 Points
This bottle cork had some streaking but solid and no evidence of a problem. Immediately upon opening the wine was very tight. Nose lacked fruit and was very barrel like with must. Wine was NOT corked or flawed but just needed extensive air time to open. Approximately 3-4 hours.
Once opened the wine was filled with dark fruit and dark chocolate on the palate but with a shorter finish than expected. It had relatively high acidity and tanins on the finish. It was difficult to find the structure and balance. I have had some very classic Bordeaux similar to this but the wine was a bit under whelming. However, the wine paired with with Beef Wellington, broccoli souffle and mushroom medley.
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5/10/2016 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
A super bottle of this wine, much better than the previous bottle from a months ago. Decadent, sexy textures, aromas of truffle, black cherry, dark chocolate and black cherry liqueur and a sensuous, earthy finish hit as soon as the wine was popped and poured.
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5/7/2016 - kr522 wrote: 89 Points
I had this wine a couple times and it's not a consistent performer. This night it was less than stellar with the fruit not quite carrying enough warmth or length.
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3/26/2016 - kr522 wrote: 95 Points
Excellent showing, was quite generous and decidedly better than the prior time where it was drunk without aeration. We drank it out of a burgundy glass fwiw.
Aromas of blueberries, blackberries and oak. It might be the most concentrated 85 and still offers a wealth of fruit with a good mid palate and finish. There's a nice sweetness to the fruit...which is more red/blue than blue/black, plus some earthy notes
I'd drink this over the next few years if you have it, the tannins are still present and I'm guessing if the fruit softens it won't be an improvement
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11/23/2015 - Marc wrote: 96 Points
Dinner for 30 year olds (Ponsonby, Auckland, New Zealand): Superb Pomerol in perfect condition. Cedar, plums, earth, a touch of funk, leather and highly complex bottle age character make for an inviting experience. In the mouth, beautiful fruit, medium bodied, multi-dimensional, gorgeous merlot fruit. This has always been one of the best Pomerols from 1985 and it is still wonderful - so refined and a snapshot of beautiful fruit harvested three decades ago. No hurry to drink this. Extraordinary for me and the table's pick for wine of the night, although I had a slight preference for the magnificent Beaucastel 1985....
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8/1/2015 - Wine_lvr Likes this wine: 93 Points
°°° Bordeaux 1985 °°° (Emmen, Switzerland): Deep clear red. Shows anise and leather. Still plenty of power, smooth tannins, elegant and long. Nice balance, sweetness and well integrated acidity. Now fully mature but well stored bottles should be nice to drink for another 10-20 years.
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7/30/2015 - Jeff Leve wrote: 93 Points
Not quite as good as the last bottle from the same case, this bottle showed some gruffness to the tannins in the otherwise, plummy, cherry and chocolate finish. Slightly more interesting on the truffle centric palate, this is fully mature.
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7/9/2015 - SimonG wrote: 92 Points
85 Claret (La Trompette, London): Blind. A touch of spice. Nicely floral. Quite plush. Rich. Persistent with a touch of liquorice on the finish. Again, lovely wine. Ducru maybe? ****
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4/24/2015 - CWM Likes this wine: 96 Points
Plum, truffles, ripe & sweet tannins, kirsch, medium weight and long finish! Fully matured now; still can age for 10-15 years. One of the finest vintage for L'Eglise Clinet in the 80's.
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11/27/2014 - Claret & CdP Gang wrote: 88 Points
1985 eglise Clinet
Color: still vibrant red with bricking
Nose: ouch, very ole skol but if you like old cupboards then you will like this wine but for me over the hill
Palate: disjointed and has some fruits but this may have some bottle issue with a protruding cork, think not a representative bottle
Rating: 88
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6/8/2014 - johnh1001 wrote: 93 Points
Another enjoyable bottle.
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6/8/2014 - Philippe_C wrote: 98 Points
Powerful nose of mokka, coffee, chocolate, lactic, ripe dark cherries, hint of smoke, licorice, mine de crayon, hint of menthol...powerful ripe red cherries, very long aftertaste, very silky tannins, perfect acidity, hint of peperonis.. great aged Pomerol!
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5/30/2014 - Zweder wrote: 94 Points
Bordeaux 1985 as main theme (@ Bottles; Sas van Gent, Netherlands): No specific notes. This is a beautiful and mature Pomerol. Creamy and everything in beautiful harmony. Completely ready now and I wonder if the drinking window until 2030 in Cellartracker is realistic. I wouldn’t wait that long. The wine is at its peak now.
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5/25/2014 - johnh1001 wrote: 93 Points
The last bottle must have been flawed. Great dark fruit, violet, chocolate. Sweet, ripe red and black fruit on the palate. Excellent balance and medium++ finish. Mature and with lots of fruit.
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3/21/2014 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Fully mature, with a nose of chocolate, plums, flowers and truffle, the silky wine feels great when it slides across your palate, finishing with rich layers of plum, black raspberry and just a minor hint of tartness. This is definitely drinking in the sweet spot of life. The debut vintage for Denis Durantou has truly shaped up nicely. If you own it, pop a cork.
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9/2/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Either we caught this wine at the perfect moment, the bottle was flawless, or both, clearly, this fully mature L'Eglise Clinet is a sublime bottle of Pomerol. Truffle, earth, black cherries, tobacco and floral notes led to a silky, round, velvet textured wine that ended with layers of ripe, opulent berries. There is no reason to wait to pop a cork on this stellar wine.
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5/16/2013 - anonymoose12345 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Lots of fruit left, ripe, nice.
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4/7/2013 - johnh1001 wrote: 88 Points
Decanted and drank over 4 hours. Initially we thought something was up with this bottle, as the nose was muddled and never really came together. Old seashells and salsa? The palate displayed dark fruit, earth, plum and violets. Black cherry. Shorter angular finish.
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4/2/2013 - LGunning wrote:
Super wine. Needs decanting
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12/18/2012 - dave smigielski wrote:
Enjoyed at a dinner party. This was very youthful. I didnt open it but my guess is that it was open for a couple hours prior to embibing, but was not decanted. I would certainly buy more of this, if the price was right.
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9/12/2012 - dcwino wrote: 92 Points
Faryan’s Grand Sendoff – Blue Duck Tavern - Mostly matured Bordeauxs (Blue Duck Tavern - Washington D.C.): From the start to end, minty note, also smoke, dark chocolate and only a hint of sweet dark fruits. Definitely unique and classically Pomerol amongst the left bankers. Silky, medium concentration and fully integrated tannins. Enjoyable but don’t see much upside and need to be drunk up sooner than later.
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7/21/2012 - Matt Neel Likes this wine:
Nicely bricking beautiful blood red, no purple. Very complex nose; red berry fruit, mint, malted milk, highly mineral with iron filings, a little bit of asparagus (in good control); with air a saline, oyster shell note appears. Palate firmly structured and masculine, but really nicely balanced; velvet. Mature, but not going anywhere soon! Medium bodied, with a long, grippy finish of beef bouillon, cranberry, and pomegranate. In a good place. (Dinner with SK -- thanks!)
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3/2/2012 - andtheodor wrote: flawed
Mid shoulder, gnarly looking bottle. Maderized. DOA.
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12/24/2011 - LittleBuck Likes this wine:
opened a 71 Trotanoy, spectrum buy, 433, ouch. 2 bottles. tried my best to say it was ok, wife said awful, opened this as the replacement. Sure better than that trot, but not jumping for joy over the 6 bottles i have left of this
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9/25/2011 - SFBill wrote: 95 Points
Won 3 bottles at auction last week here in San Fran. I wsa concerned about the hit-or-miss reviews, so thought I crack one right away.
Decanted for 2 hours and BAM, fabulous. Cork was firm; but some sediment in the glass.
Took a sip right after pouring and it was very alcohol forward. Calmed down after I let it breathe through 49er's second half and am now enjoying for afternoon Raiders game. Full fruit, firm tannins with a chocolate, blackberry nose. Nice long finish with cherry notes
This is a great wine with years to go.
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9/4/2011 - jdlee1232 wrote: 88 Points
Took forever to open; never really got there. Maybe past its prime. Very indistinct nose; thin mouth feel.
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8/6/2011 - Jeff Leve wrote: 94 Points
Earth, plums, dark chocolate, roses and an array spices produce an exciting perfume. Supple, round and opulent in texture, this rich, sexy Pomerol ends with a long, sweet red and black plum, black cherry and cocoa filed finish. The wines being made by Denis Durantou today at Chateau L'Eglise Clinet are even better than the previous generation of older wines from the famous Pomerol chateau. I can't wait to taste them at maturity.
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10/22/2010 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
85 Eglise Clinet seems to have a lot of bottle variation. I have had bottles that showed an unripe, slightly green component while other bottles have shown incredibly youthful and offered an intense Pomerol experience. Bacchus was on our side with Last night, the wine Gods were on our side because this was a great bottle! Served blind, everyone felt the wine was from the mid 90’s or younger! Intense aromatics accompanied by a huge dose of concentrated plum, black and red fruits. The finish was close to 45 seconds.
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10/4/2009 - curtr wrote: 92 Points
A very nice bottle.
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8/29/2009 - curtr wrote: 92 Points
A much nicer bottle
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8/20/2009 - curtr wrote: 90 Points
Bottle variation seems to be the culprit.
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3/10/2009 - curtr wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for one hour. Kept building over the next hour. Deep rich flavor. This was a treat after disappointing bottle last time.
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3/15/2008 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
This is so thick, I had to decide if I wanted to eat it or drink it! This is the real deal. The color is a dark, opaque, purple with no signs of lightening. The wine was compared with two other Pomerol wines from the same tasting icluding, L'Evangile and Certan de May. The wine remains youthful and still is not offering secondary aromas. Of the three 85 Pomerols, it showed the most improvement with time in the glass. Thick, unctuous, rich and concentrated almost beyond belief. Pure, ripe, black fruit notes and the essence of plums coat every nook and cranny of your palate. The texture is plush, opulent and extraordinarily rich.
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2/8/2008 - SimonG wrote: flawed
Wine-Pages Pomerol Offline (Alba, London.): Classy, restrained and elegant nose. Slightly mineral. Oops, minor TCA on palate.
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2/8/2008 - Paul D wrote: flawed
UK Wine-pages Pomerol Off-line (The Alba, London): When first poured this briefly showed it's complex, spicy, tobaccoey, if slightly funky class before becoming quickly subdued, and then slightly corky on the palate with a stripped finish. A real shame - clear case of low level cork taint.
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9/10/2007 - reichken wrote: 90 Points
1985 Dinner (Chez Bruce London): Drunk at 1985 Dinner, Chez Bruce, London
Dark and opaque wine, black fruits and somewhat barney on the nose...very full bodied and thick in the mouth , dark fruit flavor but i found it a bit stemmy and lead like...after about an hour or so in the glass it was becoming more pleasant, i think this is one to come back to in a few years
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4/19/2007 - robmatic wrote: 84 Points
Funk, green pepper, and dirt dominate the nose, while tough tannins dominate the flavor. I have been assured by people who say they know something that this is a great wine. I just don't get it.
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3/7/2007 - ATBridge wrote: flawed
Corked!
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11/30/2006 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 94 Points
An evening with Michael Broadbent (Christie's London): Ripe and round, well-structured, lovely sweet raspberry and strawberry fruit, mocha, parsley, mint, deep and creamy, impressive and very attractive.
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11/1/2006 - Jeff Leve wrote: 94 Points
The color displays a medium shade of ruby with a slight amber at the edge. On the nose, notes of chocolate covered blackberries, figs, spices and an hour later, aromas of truffles. The palate shows a great viscous mouth texture that puts on weight throughout the night. The flavors displayed on the palate include ripe red & black fruits, raspberries, cherries and a hint of mint in the finish. 85 Eglise Clinet is close to full maturity, but it has a bit of tannin to resolve in the finish.
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9/30/2006 - Burgundy Al wrote: 90 Points
HDH Pre-Auction Tasting Highlights (Chicago IL): Wine tasting. Black cherry on nose and palate. Big fruit works well with integrated structure, but the finish is short and one dimensional.
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8/16/2006 - sol wrote: 95 Points
A controversial wine the night we had it (I think it was a combination of Rob's grumpy mood and his general fussy-pants attitude towards Bordeaux in general : )), I have no doubt this is a profound wine. It was poured after a number of great wines, and more than held its own. The initial sensation on the nose was extremely pleasant, and as one delves deeper, there is graphite, forest floor, cloves, and tobacco. Excellent structure in the mouth with many years ahead of it. No controversy for this taster.
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4/5/2006 - MRichman wrote:
RFG Dinner (David Wainwright event) (Triomphe, NYC): Lush, nice wide fruit. Some wooden tannins. Dense core.
A/A-
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10/28/2005 - Will wrote:
Right Bank Bdx Offline (The Square, London): Comparable to the 1985 Lafleur but for my taste even better.
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5/31/2005 - Russell Faulkner wrote:
Chateau L'Eglise-Clinet Vertical (Bentley Hotel, London): The tiniest bit of bricking,
A real bretty nose, a great combination of horse sweat and shit.
Very concentrated, deep vibrant fruit, lovely freshness, and supple tannin.
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2/15/2004 - DChan wrote: 95 Points
This was a truly memorable wine, and the more so because it did not quite fit my preferred Bordeaux flavor profile (Pauillac or Graves). Great intermingling flavors of tobacco, kirsch liqueur, licorice, and stones. There was tremendous development in the glass over two hours or so, and I agree with earlier comments that this is drinking beautifully now but has a long life and further evolution ahead of it still.
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2/2/2004 - PaulH wrote: 94 Points
Decanted for us by the Sommelier at La Folie. Immediate big nose of tobacco, earth, cloves, and merlot fruit. The color was still a purplish red, with very little thinning at the rim. The palate was redolent of berries from the summer. The mid palate showed a very big and smooth mouth-filling viscosity. The tannins were mostly resolved, but there was enough structure left to indicate this wine still has many years ahead of it. A smooth and pleasurable finish. I was very impressed with this wine until we finished up with the last bottle of the night: Cheval Blanc '83! (Dinner with JB, Phyllis and Jane).
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10/1/1999 - sdr Likes this wine: 94 Points
Jim’s bottle, at Jeneiro. No resemblance to the bottles I purchased. Structured, intense and long. Very intense. Black fruits. Oak well integrated. Young. Outstanding.
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7/29/1999 - Marc wrote: 98 Points
The next wine opened was Ch. L'Eglise Clinet 1985 - drunk with a salmon dish with polenta and maderia sauce taken from the Le Bernadin cookbook. The match was quite good, though the fish did bring to the fore the slight iron charaters that great pomerol seems to display - at any rate I liked it. The wine itself is out of this world - drinking well with the afore mentioned iron - lots of plum, leather, earth and sucullent berries. Is mature but based on this showing should continue to age and evolve for decades. Easily the best 85 Pomerol I have drunk (including Petrus and Lafleur drunk last year - I have not tasted any of the other major contenders) The most enjoyable bordeaux I have had in my mouth for the whole year! 98pnts
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5/1/1999 - sdr Likes this wine: 89 Points
More structured than before. Focused fruit. Rounded tannins. Very fine.
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2/1/1999 - sdr Does not like this wine: 80 Points
An off bottle. Harsh. Lacks charm, the raison d’être of this wine.
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9/1/1998 - sdr Likes this wine: 88 Points
Bright and fruity. Fresh and delicious. A light hearted wine to drink now.
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5/1/1998 - sdr Likes this wine: 90 Points
Big and pruny, over-ripe. Impressive to be sure but far from charming. Started to break up after 30-40 minutes though.
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4/1/1998 - sdr Likes this wine: 95 Points
Brown Derby bottle, purchased 10 years ago. Huge and powerful, young and tannic. Very dark to the rim, too. Aromatic, mouth coating, chewy. Really intense. Impressive.
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5/17/1997 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 91 Points
Tasting 8 1985 Bordeaux (Walnut Creek, Ca.): Nice, rich nose, vanilla nose, merlot hints, veryrich, full throttle merlot here, very soft tannins, needs 5 years to peak, beautiful finish with licorice notes, lots of flavors here. My #3.
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3/11/1992 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine: 90 Points
At home at dinner (pasta with tomato and green olive sauce). Impressive dark ruby color, with thick tears, smelling of new oak and smoky fruit. Rich, majestic fruit on the palate. Still a youngster, just beginning to show its stuff. Went very well with the pasta, which seemed to bring out its flesh. 5-11-16-8: 90/100.
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7/21/1991 - Marc wrote: 96 Points
very purple - rich deep colour - outstanding aroma of buttery sweet vanilla fruit cake and stewed plums - very opulent and hedonistic. mouthfilling cinnamon plummy flavours - rich texture with perfect acidity - ripe smooth tannins - quite burgundian. July Wine options practice tasting. Very Different to Petrus in taste (sweeter, more plummy - maybe less "serious" without the bracing tannic structure of Petrus.
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5/16/1990 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine: 91 Points
With MPL, BLR and Diane at my house. Medium-dark ruby. Very red. Oaky aroma, plenty of fruit. Tobacco complexity. Lots of merlot character. On the palate, initially very tannic, softened with airing. Plenty of merlot fruit; mellow oak overtones. Long on the palate. Plump wine-should be great in time when the tannin subsides. 5-11-16-9: 91/100.
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