Pure aromatics, with red berry fruit and spicy.
Château La Clotte is a Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé property that dates its history back to 1886, when the Marquis Gaston de Grailly created the estate from vines that his family has owned since 1747. The Grailly family is related to the Becot family, the owner of Château Beau-Séjour Bécot. In 1913, the property was sold to the Chailleau-Moulierac family. The estate was known as La Clotte de Grailly until 1949, when the name of the original owner was dropped. In mid-1960s, the Chailleau-Moulierac family granted exclusive distribution rights to Ets JP Moueix (the negociant behind famed Petrus), about the same time when Petrus saw its price skyrochet under a similar exclusivity arrangement. In 1989, unconvinced their wine was getting the best result, the Chailleau family decided to take matters into their own hands and ended the exclusivity contract. For many years, Nelly Moulierac led the improvement of quality and presence of La Clotte in fine wine market. In 2014, the Vauthier family (owner of Château Ausone) became the latest owner of this storied estate.
Château La Clotte is located on the prime land of Saint-Émilion - the limestone plateau. The word clotte means grotto in the Gascon language. It refers to the impressive underground limestone cellars located underneath the estate. This was an endowment to select chateaux that are situated on the previous limestone quarries Saint-Émilion was famous for. If one is impressed by the beautiful sight of chateau built out of the limstones extracted from underground, it would be an equally impressive sight if one is fortunate to step into the caves that are still underneath Saint-Emilion today. Located at the entrance to the town, with a historical watchtower in the middle of the vines. This is one of the most beautiful sites around Saint-Émilion.
Château La Clotte is a small property, with 3 heactares under vine out of 4 heactares of land. On average, it produces 1,500 cases each year. Today, La Clotte is run by Alain Vauthier and his daughter, Pauline. She is also the winemaker at Château Ausone. 2015 was the inaugural vintage under the Vauthier ownership.
Sensory Features: Coming from vines southwest of the village and 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, the 2022 Château La Clotte is one of my favorites in the lineup from the Vauthier family in 2022. Ripe black cherries, red plums, espresso, baking spices, and a beautiful sense of minerality all define the aromatics, and it's medium to full-bodied, with nicely integrated oak, ripe tannins, and a great finish.
Grape Varieties: 85% Merlot & 15% Cabernet Franc
The tiny 4-hectare vineyard of Château La Clotte sits just outside the village of St-Émilion. The vineyards are edged by a limestone cliff, in which there are caves – La Clotte is a local Gascon word for “cave dweller” – and these caves have conveniently become cellars for the winery. In 2014 Alain Vauthier, owner of next-door Château Ausone, bought Château La Clotte, although it will continue to be run as a separate estate.
