The Fine Wine Source of Livonia, Michigan along with AHD Vintners celebrated a centenary of vintages for Clos du Clocher at Vertical Detroit.  Jean-Baptiste Bourotte was front and center, as the great-grandson of Jean-Baptiste Audy the founder of Clos du Clocher.  The first vintage for this small, but consistent estate in Pomerol was in 1924.  The winery is just shy of six hectares and is home to some truly ancient vines.  The estate is set in four parcels and seventy percent of these parcels are dedicated to Merlot, and the balance is planted with Cabernet Franc.  The average age for the vines is forty years and they are planted on clay and gravel parcels on the Pomerol plateau.  No herbicides are used and organic treatments are implemented where possible.  The fruit is hand harvested, double-sorted with a density bath, de-stemmed to create a homogenous final crop.  Fermentation is done in small Stainless Steel and concrete tanks by parcel; hence the wines reflect the percentages of the grapes grown.  The wine then is aged for eighteen months in French Oak, of which two-thirds are new.

The first two wines that were served came from the estate for this celebration and were in magnum formats, which are revered, because the wine ages slower in the larger bottles.  We began with Clos du Clocher Pomerol 2003.  Pomerol at first glance doesn’t look like a Bordeaux wine, both historically and physically.  There are really not a series of grand structures and it has no formalized wine system like found in the Medoc, Graves, Sauternes and Saint-Emilion.  Despite this, two wines Petrus and Le Pin, both without a chateau title) command higher prices than many of the Cru Classe wines.  This first wine that we had was terroir driven with a deep purple color and offered notes of raspberry, milk-chocolate, and some smokiness.  On the palate there were tones of raspberry, plum, and cherry blended harmoniously with soft tannins and decent finish of fruit and terroir. 

The second wine that we were served along side of the first wine from magnums was Clos du Clocher Pomerol 2009.  The region is sometimes referred to as the Libournais, as the town of Libourne is in the southern part of Pomerol. There is only about a twenty-meter fluctuation of elevation in the district.  Clos du Clocher is found on the marginally higher land on the eastern section where Pomerol meets Saint-Emilion and three of the most famous producers are immediate neighbors (Petrus, Lafleur, and Le Pin) and this wine is considered a value-priced Pomerol.  This wine was a deep inky purple in color and offered notes of raspberry, blackberry, spring florals, and traces of smoke, mocha, and coffee.  On the palette the tones of the red fruit, mingled with soft and sweet tannins, low acidity and a lingering finish of fruit and terroir.