critic reviews
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.
Concentrated and intense, dried figs, high spice, freshly cut herbs, incense, cardamon, dried rose petal, pot pourri, this has fragrance that builds thorugh the palate, plenty of tannic grip that just flirts with being dry. A concentrated Clinet with impact. 30 hl/ha. Tasted twice. Ronan Laborde owner.
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.