Chateau Clarke 2016
- Decanter
-
James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Château Clarke is a beautiful crimson color with a deep purple edge. Both intense and complex, the nose displays fresh fruit aromas (black currant and black cherry) and elegant oak nuances, as well as hints of menthol and liquorice with aeration. The wine starts out round and straightforward and follows with rich, concentrated and velvety tannic texture along with beautiful acidity that provides balance and freshness.
Blend: 70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
This is excellent, really feels much deeper, richer and more deeply textured in its fruit expression than any others in the line-up. Intense cassis and bilberry flavours, and although this is still Merlot dominant in the blend, the Médoc character of the Cabernet Sauvignon and the tannic frame is clear.
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James Suckling
Currant and cherry aromas are underlined with iron and rust. Medium-to full-bodied, firm and chewy yet polished and poised. Tension and style at the end. A blend of 70 per cent merlot and 30 per cent cabernet sauvignon.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Château Clarke has some obvious oak but makes up for it with ample fruit. Deep ruby/purple-colored, with loads of black cherry and cassis fruit intermixed with graphite and leather, it has solid purity, medium body, fine tannins, and impressive length on the finish. It’s a serious wine from Listrac to enjoy over the coming decade.
Other Vintages
2015-
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling
The buildings on the property have been restored to their original aspect, with the exception of the Chateau itself, demolished in the 1950s and never rebuilt. Some new buildings have been constructed for the purposes of vinification, bottling and packaging, allowing bottles to be stored in the best conditions of temperature and security.
Although the equipment here is modern, the wine is vinified in keeping with the traditions of great Médoc wines and is aged in oak barrels. The wine is aged over a period of 12 to 16 months in new oak barrels, and the careful attention it receives is aimed at helping it mature and preparing it for bottling.
Chateau Clarke has a great aging potential. After a few years of cellar ageing it will reveal all the typical characteristics of its “terroir” and a most delicate aromatic harmony.
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 six appellations of the Haut-Medoc, Listrac has a gentle rise away from the Gironde River and contains some of the highest elevations of the Left Bank. While Cabernet Sauvignon dominates, its clay limestone soils are increasingly planted to Merlot.