2000 Château La Clotte, 3-bottle Lot

Château La Clotte is a 10-acre estate in St.-Emilion and it is owned by the Vauthiers, who also own nearby Château Ausone. Alain Vauthier and his daughter Pauline purchased Château La Clotte in 2014, buying it from a family who had owned the tiny estate for more than a century. Château La Clotte is a Grand Cru Classé of the St.-Emilion appellation. The wine is typically 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Château La Clotte traces its history to the 16th century and in the 1990s the estate came under the management of three cousins, all women, whose family owned the estate for more than a century. The women continue to run the estate under the direction of the Vauthiers. Some 15,000 bottles are produced annually and there is no second label. Robert M. Parker Jr. has called La Clotte an “up-and-coming estate…quietly making its way toward the higher echelons of the St.-Emilion hierarchy…” Parker rated a recent vintage at 95+ points.

Saint-Émilion is on the east side of the Dordogne River. At 13,400 acres it is one of Bordeaux’s largest appellations, and perhaps its most picturesque. It is also home to what has been called “the garagiste” movement of upstart, tradition-defying winemakers who produce artisanal wines in styles that are unconventional for the appellation. The village of Saint-Émilion dates from the middle ages and it sits on low hills, surrounded by ancient walls. Like its neighbor Pomerol, Saint-Émilion was not included in the famous Bordeaux classification system of 1855. But a century later a ranking system was put in place, and unlike the classification system for the Medoc, the Saint-Émilion system is reviewed every ten years, meaning that estates can be upgraded or downgraded. There are three rankings: Grand Cru Classé, Premier Grand Cru Classé B and Premier Grand Cru Classé A, with the final ranking being the best. Such legendary Saint-Émilion estates as Châteaux Ausone and Cheval-Blanc are Premier Grand Cru Classé A, along with Châteaux Pavie and Angélus, both added to the classification in 2012. Wines in this appellation are primarily Merlot, mixed with Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.