Chateau Feytit-Clinet, Pomerol 2020

Another blockbuster in the making from this tiny estate in Pomerol, the 2020 Château Feytit-Clinet is based on a normal blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, hitting 14.8% natural alcohol with a pH of 3.7. The aging will span 18 months in 70% new French oak. It boasts a dense purple hue as well as a stunning nose of crème de cassis, currants, tobacco, and damp earth. About as ripe, sexy, and opulent as they come, it still shows the purity and freshness of this great vintage. It reveals more and more tannins with time in the glass, but given its mid-palate as well as its overall density, it’s going to benefit from just 3-4 years of bottle age and cruise for 20-30 years.

The 2020 Feytit-Clinet is one of the most compelling wines in Pomerol, or all of Bordeaux, for that matter. Blackberry jam, crème de cassis, chocolate, espresso, lavender, licorice and gravel race across the palate. Explosive and powerful to the core, the 2020 is endowed with tons of pedigree. The tannins are incisive, as they so often are, but also impeccably balanced. What a wine! Tasted two times.

Drink from 2023 to 2050.

What a sensational nose at this early stage, offering aromas of blackberries, dried flowers and sandalwood that follow through to a full body that is composed and compact. Creamy texture and intense finish. Finesse. Another winner from here.

Inky plum with violet edging, this is deep and muscular, pretty intense with bitter chocolate and powerful coffee bean flavours, full on and broad shouldered. This is big but it eats its alcohol and has a lovely balance. A yield of 42hl/ha. 3.7pH. Tasted twice.

Drink from 2026 to 2044.

The 2020 Feytit Clinet is a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, coming in at 14.8% alcohol and a pH of 3.7. Harvest took place September 11–28 and yields were 42 hectoliters per hectare. The wine is being aged in French oak barrels, 70% new. Deep purple-black colored, it storms out of the glass, shouting bold notes of plum preserves, blueberry pie and stewed cherries, before giving way to quiet whispers of Indian spices, potpourri, licorice and rose oil. The full-bodied palate is packed with muscular black fruits and a firm texture of ripe, rounded tannins, contrasted by lovely freshness and loads of alluring exotic spice layers, lingering long into the layered finish. A beautifully constructed paradox, this is a very smart, stylish Feytit-Clinet!

Drink 2026 - 2046

The 2020 Feytit-Clinet takes a little while to cohere in the glass, eventually revealing fragrant blackberry, black truffle and pressed violet petal scents that gradually gain intensity but never approach some of the hedonistic levels found elsewhere. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-boned tannins and beautifully judged acidity. Harmonious from the start to the silky-smooth, complex finish. This might well be the finest Feytit-Clinet to date: classy and sophisticated, and delicious too.

Drink from 2024 to 2048.