One of my favorite St.-Emilion boutique vineyards, La Clotte’s 10 acres of vines average 40-years of age. The 2009 (80% Merlot and the rest mostly Cabernet Franc) offers a beautifully sweet, ripe, opulent texture (typical for this estate) in addition to a dense purple color, and abundant notes of licorice, smoked herbs, meat, and black fruits. Full-bodied and viscous with great precision and fresh acids (the paradoxical characteristic of this vintage), it combines enormous fruit and extraction with off the chart tannins as well as remarkable finesse and elegance. This 2009 should drink well for two decades or more. (Tasted three times.)
92-94 points, Wine Advocate # 188 (Apr 2010).
Tar and blueberry aromas, with a wet earth undertone. Full-bodied, with a solid core of fruit and a medium chewy finish. A little loosely knit now, but should come together nicely.
89-92 points, Wine Spectator, (March 25, 2010). | 
