The 1986 Clinet, which was made by Jean-Michel Arcaute and vinified in the previous winery in concrete vats without thermoregulation, a facility presently used to house tractors! It was picked from 29 September. For a Right Bank Pomerol it has a very pleasant bouquet. It comes across as being very pure with red cherries, mulberry, truffle and a touch of wild mushroom - clean and surprisingly detailed. The palate is medium-bodied with light, slightly grainy tannins. This is fully mature, quite earthy in style and attenuates a little towards the finish. Yet the late Arcaute was a talented winemaker for sure and this 30-year-old is blessed with fine balance and freshness, even as it gently fades year by year. It deserves a polite round of applause. Tasted September 2016.

With relatively high tannin, there is a certain dryness and astringency in the finish of this dark plum/garnet-colored wine. Nevertheless, what precedes it remains impressive. The wine exhibits a big, spicy nose, with still some lingering oak intermixed with licorice, floral, and blueberry fruit. Medium bodied, with excellent depth but hard tannin, this wine seems typical of so many 1986’s – still youthful and promising, but always in danger that the tannins will overtake the fruit. Anticipated maturity: Now-2012. Last tasted, 9/02