Pomerol is Bordeaux on a Burgundy scale. The small right bank appellation covers less than three square miles, and is home to only 150 winemakers. But the wines of Pomerol are anything but small. In his iconic World Atlas of Wine, Hugh Johnson calls Pomerol “richest, most velvety and instantly appealing form of red Bordeaux.”
Planted in most other locales, Merlot produces soft, flat, undistinguished wines. But in Pomerol, the grape soars, producing some of the world’s most intense and expensive wines. Like Chardonnay in Chablis, Syrah in Côte Rôtie, it’s a persuasive argument for the power of terroir.
Clemence 2016 is classic Pomerol — bold, rich, and smooth. The average vines in the tiny 7 acre vineyard are over 50 years old, and winemaker Christian Dauriac keeps yields low, often near 20 hectolitres per hectare. The result is a mouthfilling wine that ages beautifully.
Decanter’s reviewer Jane Anson found the 2016 “delivering a punch that almost knocks you off your feet with tight black coffee on a hugely concentrated palate with big tannins.” She counseled beginning to drink it in seven years — we’ll be trying one out in five. If you’ve got cellar space and a bit of patience, this is a terrific investment.
____________________________
Clemence Pomerol 2016
bottle price: $99
FREE EAST COAST SHIPPING ON ANY 12 BOTTLES
