Clarendelle Inspired by Haut-Brion Medoc 2018
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Suckling
James
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Blend: 51% Merlot, 49% Cabernet Sauvignon
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James Suckling
A soft, delicious red with plum, redcurrant and chocolate aromas and flavors. Medium body, round tannins and a delicious finish. 51% merlot and 49% cabernet sauvignon. Drink or hold.
Other Vintages
2016-
Suckling
James
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Suckling
James -
Wong
Wilfred
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.
One of the most—if not the most—famous red wine regions of the world, the Medoc reaches from the city of Bordeaux northwest along the left bank of the Gironde River almost all the way to the Atlantic. Its vineyards climb along a band of flatlands, sandwiched between the coastal river marshes and the pine forests in the west. The entire region can only claim to be three to eight miles wide (at its widest), but it is about 50 miles long.
While the Medoc encompasses the Haut Medoc, and thus most of the classed-growth villages (Margaux, Moulis, Listrac, St-Julien, Pauillac and St. Estephe) it is really only those wines produced in the Bas-Medoc that use the Medoc appellation name. The ones farther down the river, and on marginally higher ground, are eligible to claim the Haut Medoc appellation, or their village or cru status.
While the region can’t boast a particularly dramatic landscape, impressive chateaux disperse themselves among the magically well-drained gravel soils that define the area. This optimal soil draining capacity is completely necessary and ideal in the Medoc's damp, maritime climate. These gravels also serve well to store heat in cooler years.