Alcohol: 14.0 %
Grape(s): Merlot, Cabernet Franc
Location: Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé, Bordeaux, France
Tasting Notes: Deep garnet. Steeped red and black currant fruit mingles with tobacco, worn cedar and savory earth, with a streak of warm cast iron. Rich, medium-to-full bodied and seamless on the palate: gorgeous, glossy tannins with no hard edges, a layered mid-palate and a long, polished finish. A generous, seductive Saint-Émilion that drinks beautifully now but has the stuffing for 5-8 years in the cellar, through the late 2020s.
Notes: The 2019 blends roughly 85% Merlot with 15% Cabernet Franc from the estate’s 4-hectare clay-limestone slope on Saint-Émilion’s famed east-facing côte, tended along biodynamic lines. Hand-harvested, gently extracted and aged in French oak to emphasize the silken Merlot texture that defines the house style. The warm 2019 vintage gave generous, structured wines on the right bank.
Food Pairing: Excellent with duck breast, roast lamb, beef tenderloin, truffle dishes, and soft-ripened or aged sheep’s milk cheeses.
Winery Story: Clos de l’Oratoire is a Grand Cru Classé of Saint-Émilion in the hands of Stephan von Neipperg, whose portfolio (Canon-La-Gaffelière, La Mondotte) sets the standard for the appellation’s modern renaissance. Since 1991 the Neipperg touch has made this small, slope-hugging estate a quiet source of some of Saint-Émilion’s most seductive reds.
