Chateau Clinet is one of the most prestigious estates of the Pomerol wine region, set amongst the finest parcels of this well-known plateau.
The first traces of viticulture, on the land that today belongs to Chateau CLINET, date back to 1614 under the ownership of the GOMBAULT family. The estate passed from the GOMBAULT family to the ARNAUD family in 1825. Catherine Henriette ARNAUD married Elie Desire CONSTANT, an important wine merchant who, as a widower, shared the property between his 4 children.
After 1879, Chateau CLINET changed hands several times before becoming the bijou estate of the LUQUOT/AUDY family in 1908. George AUDY, the son of Germaine LUQUOT and Jean-Louis AUDY, looked after CLINET along with his son in-law, Jean-Michel ARCAUTE. In 1991, after George AUDY’s death, CLINET was sold to a French Insurance company GAN, and was still run by Jean-Michel ARCAUTE.
The latter marked a real turning point. He improved the wine by revolutionising the way the vineyard was being managed, replanting with merlot instead of cabernets and introducing hand-harvesting, manual selection and a longer cuvaison. With the support of Michel Rolland, Jean-Michel’s hard work paid off when the name Clinet was put back on the map after receiving rapturous acclaim from critics in 1989 (receiving 100/100 from Robert Parker) & 1990.
Chateau Clinet’s terroir sits on the famous Gunz gravel terrace, which extends along the Isle river towards Libourne, up to Pomerol and Saint-Emilion. The soil here is made up of a clay base surrounded by a thick gravel layer. The stones of this well-drained soil store heat during the daytime and release it during cooler periods, ensuring a perfect grape ripening.
The climate combined with deep clay subsoils, covered in gravel, make our Pomerol terroir the best location in the world to grow Merlot grapes. Their vines, whose average age currently stands at a remarkable 40 years, sink their roots to depths of 2 to 3 metres, drawing on the unique natural resources of this region, which are fundamental to producing grapes of such exceptional quality. Merlot counts for the vast majority of grape varieties planted at Chateau CLINET (90%) with the remainder being made up of Cabernet-Sauvignon (9%) and Cabernet Franc (1%).
Harvesting is always carried out manually. Following meticulous selection, gravity guides the harvested grapes to the vats in line with the harvesting plan. On average, fermentation and maceration lasts for one month, before the wine is transferred into barrels. The free run wines are separated from the pressed wines, and then aged separately. After vinification, Chateau Clinet makes use of an automated vertical press, to extract the quintessence from the remnants of grape left in the vats. Rich in tannins, this press juice may be used to bring structure to the final blend.
Since 2003, the estate has been managed by Ronan. As a young businessman and marketing graduate, he fosters big ideas for the future of Clinet. But as a wine scholar and a passionate servant of the industry, he offers real perspective on the sensitivity of the market and believes passionately in the need to learn from the lessons of our history.