Château La Clotte 2021

Located at the entrance to the town of Saint-Émilion, with a historical watchtower in the midst of its vines, Château La Clotte is one of the most beautiful sites on the Right Bank.  It is situated on the prime land of Saint-Émilion - the limestone plateau.  The word clotte means grotto in the Gascon language.  It refers to the impressive underground limestone cellars located underneath the estate.  Before wine made Saint-Émilion famous, it was better known as a source of limestone used for building mansions.  If one is impressed by the beautiful sight of chateaux built with limestone extracted from underground, it would be an equally impressive sight if one has the chance to step into the caves that are still underneath Saint-Émilion today.  For the caves to be usable as cellars, access through natural openings to above-ground is essential as the caves tend to have excessively high levels of humidity.  Few chateaux are endowed with that feature.  La Clotte is fortunate to be one of them.

Château La Clotte dates its history back to 1886, when the Marquis Gaston de Grailly created the estate from vines that his family has owned since 1747.  The Grailly family is related to the Becot family, the owner of Château Beau-Séjour Bécot (another estate with impressive underground limestone cellars).  In 1913, the property was sold to the Chailleau-Moulierac family.  The estate was known as La Clotte de Grailly until 1949, when the name of the original owner was dropped.  In mid-1960s, the Chailleau-Moulierac family granted exclusive distribution rights to Ets JP Moueix (the negociant behind famed Petrus), about the same time when Petrus saw its price skyrochet under a similar exclusivity arrangement.  In 1989, unconvinced their wine was getting the best result, the Chailleau family decided to take matters into their own hands and ended the exclusivity contract.  For many years, Nelly Moulierac led the improvement of quality and presence of La Clotte in fine wine market.  In 2014, the Vauthier family (owner of Château Ausone) acquired La Clotte as it sits really near Ausone's own vineyard.  A leisurely stroll from one house to the other takes only 9 minutes, the vineyards are practically next to each other.

Château La Clotte is a small property, with 3 heactares under vine out of 4 heactares of land. On average, it produces 1,500 cases each year.  Today, La Clotte is run by Alain Vauthier and his daughter, Pauline.  She is also the winemaker at Château Ausone. 2015 was the inaugural vintage under the Vauthier ownership.

"This is understated with hidden depths, walking the line of ripeness in a lighter frame that will be ready to drink in a few years. Gentle gunsmoke on the nose, dominant limestone character, with chalky minerality, juicy lemongrass, slate, redcurrant and raspberry fruits, with higher acidity greengage plum. Harvest October 2 to 6. Old vines, average age 57 years, Thierry Lezin cellar master. 100% new oak. Second year of organic converison. Harvest October 2 to 6, 29hl/h yield." - Jane Anson, (11/17/2023), Ratings: 93, Drink: 2026-2040

"The 2021 La Clotte is a very pretty, intensely savory wine. Bright red plum, red cherry, mint, orange peel, spice and cedar all grace this super-expressive, pliant Saint-Émilion. I admire its textural depth, nuance and overall class. What a beautiful wine this is. Like so many 2021s, La Clotte is gorgeously perfumed and aromatic." - Antonio Galloni, Vinous, (02/28/2024), Ratings: 92

"The 2021 Château La Clotte checks in as 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, which is a normal blend for this château, and the aging was 18 months in new French oak. It has a saturated ruby hue to go with gorgeous notes of crème de cassis, black cherries, ripe tobacco, violets, and smoke, with just a hint of iron in the background. It's rich, medium-bodied, has a ripe, concentrated mouthfeel, beautiful tannins, and a great finish." - Jeb Dunnuck, (04/03/2024), Ratings: 92