Chateau La Clotte 2018

Professional Ratings

• 96 Jeb Dunnuck
  From an estate purchased by Ausone in 2014, the 2018 Château La Clotte looks to be a sensational wine in the making, and I think it’s probably going to surpass both the 2015 and 2016. A blend of 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Cabernet Franc, this deeply colored Saint-Émilion offers a smoky, blackcurrant, black cherry, and graphite-driven bouquet. This carries to a medium to full-bodied red that has a stacked mid-palate, tons of ripe, sexy fruit, building tannins, and a great finish. It’s a brilliant Saint-Émilion that’s going to need short-term cellaring but will cruise in cool cellars for two decades or more.
  Barrel Sample: 94-96+
• 94 Wine Enthusiast

  This estate is continuing its rise under the tutelage of the Vauthier family of Chateau Ausone. With firm tannins, dark black fruits, smoky flavors and touches of spice, the wine will need time. Drink from 2026. Cellar Selection

• 94 Decanter

  Even in the short time that the Vauthiers have been making La Clotte, you can see the depth and precision increasing. This is a little more serious perhaps than the Moulin Saint-Georges in the same range. Pretty austere at this point, but packed with dark fruits and with promise. Cabernet Sauvignon uprooted after the 2019 vintage. Drinking Window 2026 - 2044

• 93 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

  The 2018 La Clotte is a blend of 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, it slips seductively out of the glass with spicy scents of powdered cinnamon, cloves and Sichuan pepper over a core of stewed plums, boysenberries and kirsch, plus a waft of menthol. The medium-bodied palate possesses impressive energy, featuring bags of ripe black and red berries flavors with a lively backbone and fine-grained texture, finishing on a lingering mineral note.

• 92 James Suckling

  Aromas of dried flowers, blackberries and cherries with hints of spices. Currants, too. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, juicy tannins and a flavorful finish. Fine tannins at the end. Drink after 2023.