Winemaker Notes
Château Clarke 2015 is a beautiful crimson color with a deep purple rim. Both intense and complex, the nose displays fresh fruit aromas (black currant and black cherry) and elegant oak nuances, as well as hints of menthol and liquorice with aeration. The wine starts out round and straightforward and follows with rich, concentrated and velvety tannic texture along with beautiful acidity that provides balance and freshness.
Blend: 70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
This estate has belonged to the Edmond de Rothschild family since 1973. From one of the top performing properties in Listrac, this wine is well proportioned, rich and dense. It has weight but its main thrust is elegance, with stylish black-currant fruit, acidity and a dry core from the wood aging. The wine will age well and should not be drunk before 2023.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Clarke has an attractive blackberry and briary scented nose with just a hint of dark chocolate emanating from the new oak. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannin, the acidity nicely judged with fine tension on the cedar and tobacco-tinged finish. I appreciate the freshness and refinement demonstrated by this Château Clarke, a classic Listrac that should give 10-12 years of pleasure.
Barrel Sample: 90-92 -
James Suckling
Sweet and generous but also with quite a slug of dry tannins, and that really gives the wine some character and drive at the finish. You can drink it now, but better in 2020.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
One of the six appellations of the Haut-Medoc, Listrac has a gentle rise away from the Gironde River and contains some of the highest elevations of the Left Bank. While Cabernet Sauvignon dominates, its clay limestone soils are increasingly planted to Merlot.