Clarendelle Inspired by Haut-Brion St. Emilion 2014
-
James
Suckling
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Blend: 77% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Franc, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
Aromas of blackberries, lemons and orange peel follow through to a medium body, firm and polished tannins and a fresh finish. A beauty. Complex blend. Enjoy. Drink now.
Other Vintages
2019-
James
Suckling
Clarendelle, Inspired by Haut-Brion is created by Prince Robert de Luxembourg and named in honour of Mr Clarence Dillon, his great-grandfather, who acquired Château Haut-Brion in 1935.
A member of the eminent Domaine Clarence Dillon family of wines (Haut-Brion, La Mission Haut-Brion & Quintus), the style of the Clarendelle wines is dictated by an expression of the Bordeaux terroir which aims to produce subtle elegance in age-worthy wines.
Every year, we revisit the blends in order to reflect only the finest parcels of wine in each individual vintage resulting from long-term partnerships with local winegrowers, attentive to environmental issues. The red wines come primarily from the Saint-Émilion the Haut-Medoc, and the Pessac-Leognan regions (including the Domaine Clarence Dillon estates). The white wines come mainly from the Graves region (including Pessac-Leognan). Like the Haut-Brion wines, Clarendelle offers its assurance by representing an uncompromising quality and consistency with every vintage. We ensure proper aging of our wines in state-of-the-art, eco-friendly wine storage facilities that allow for the ideal aging conditions. This guarantees that our wines reveal their natural refinement and elegance over time.
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.
Marked by its historic fortified village—perhaps the prettiest in all of Bordeaux, the St-Émilion appellation, along with its neighboring village of Pomerol, are leaders in quality on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. These Merlot-dominant red wines (complemented by various amounts of Cabernet Franc and/or Cabernet Sauvignon) remain some of the most admired and collected wines of the world.
St-Émilion has the longest history in wine production in Bordeaux—longer than the Left Bank—dating back to an 8th century monk named Saint Émilion who became a hermit in one of the many limestone caves scattered throughout the area.
Today St-Émilion is made up of hundreds of independent farmers dedicated to the same thing: growing Merlot and Cabernet Franc (and tiny amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon). While always roughly the same blend, the wines of St-Émilion vary considerably depending on the soil upon which they are grown—and the soils do vary considerably throughout the region.
The chateaux with the highest classification (Premier Grand Cru Classés) are on gravel-rich soils or steep, clay-limestone hillsides. There are only four given the highest rank, called Premier Grand Cru Classés A (Chateau Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Angélus, Pavie) and 14 are Premier Grand Cru Classés B. Much of the rest of the vineyards in the appellation are on flatter land where the soils are a mix of gravel, sand and alluvial matter.
Great wines from St-Émilion will be deep in color, and might have characteristics of blackberry liqueur, black raspberry, licorice, chocolate, grilled meat, earth or truffles. They will be bold, layered and lush.