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90-92 THE WINEADVOCATE: "This wine is produced by Denis Darantou and family of Château L’Eglise-Clinet. Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Les Cruzelles (a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc) opens with powerful black fruit scents of ripe blackberries, black cherries and mulberries with underlying floral notions of lilacs and wilted roses and hints of dark chocolate, fertile loam and mossy tree bark. The medium to full-bodied palate is chock-full of expressive, crunchy black fruits, framed by chunky tannins and just enough freshness, finishing with a peppery kick."
18+ WEINWISSER: "80?% Merlot, 20?% Cabernet Franc, 14,5?%-vol.. Sattes Purpur. Berauschendes Heidelbeerbouquet, dahinter Brombeergelee und Lakritze. Am druckvollen Gaumen mit seidiger Textur, engmaschigem Tanningerüst und herrlicher Extraktsüsse, im Hintergrund eine perfekt balancierte Rasse. Im aromatischen Finale eine volle Ladung blauer Beeren, schwarze Johannisbeerdrops und zarte Graphitspuren. Das diesjährige Highlight aus Lalande-de-Pomerol."
93 DECANTER: "The high level of Sémillon comes through in the ripe confit lemon flavours, with touches of honeysuckle. There is a welcome juice and lift through the finish, and this has body and presence. Good quality for this white wine from a high-quality Magrez estate. Aged in cement vats for the Sauvignon and oak barrels for the Sémillon."
91-93 ANTONIO GALLONI: " The 2019 Les Cruzelles, the late Denis Durantou´s Lalande-de-Pomerol estate, was picked between 18 and 28 September and matured in 30% new oak. It has a very really gorgeous bouquet with disarmingly pure blackberry and blueberry fruit. The oak is seamlessly integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with dark berry fruit mixed with dried orange peel and a pinch of sea salt. This has so much character and personality, the salinity on the finish lingers wonderfully."
92-94 ANTONIO GALLONI: "The 2019 Les Cruzelles is a big wine. Black cherry, gravel, smoke, licorice and new leather blast out of the glass. Dizzyingly intense and deep, with equally potent tannins, Les Cruzelles is fabulous in 2019. It is also going to need at least a few years in bottle to come together. Harvest took place from September 18 and 25 for the Merlot and September 28 for the Franc.
Denis Durantou´s 2019s are absolutely brilliant across the board. My tasting was obviously bittersweet, as Durantou lost his battle with illness just a few weeks prior. Denis Durantou was one of the most intriguing characters in Bordeaux. I can´t say I knew him well, but I always enjoyed tasting with him, as he was a person that spoke more with his eyes than with words. Things were implied rather than overtly stated. So, I tasted the 2019s with daughters Constance and Noémie over Zoom, in typical 2020 fashion. The Durantou sisters describe 2019 as a year with an early flowering and homogenous ripening that led to small, concentrated berries and higher pHs than normal. Temperatures were kept cool in the cellar, where both alcoholic and malolactic fermentations took place over cuvaison of 21 days (for all wines), in a reductive environment with little oxygen. From top to bottom, the Durantou 2019s are positively stellar. Don´t miss them!"
91-93 THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Flowers, black raspberries, earthy cherries and nutty chocolate notes are in the nose. The palate, is filled with lusciously textured, sweet, ripe black plums and cocoa. The silky finish feels great. Produced from a blend of 90% Merlot with 10% Cabernet Franc, this could be the top wine produced from Les Cruzelles, a vineyard the late owner, Denis Durantou loved."
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