The Château l'Eglise-Clinet 2003 was served ex-château from bottle and magnum. Alongside the 2003 Château Lafleur, it represents one of the best Pomerol wines of the vintage. Why? Because as Denis himself explained, the vineyard naturally produced low pH that counterbalanced the summer heat. It was actually the bottle that has the best bouquet, lively and vibrant for the vintage, extremely well defined and youthful after 12 years. Macerated dark cherries, red plum and incense all soar from the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, slightly savory red berry fruit that is very spicy, white pepper and cumin. There is fine delineation on the finish and great length. It does not quite deliver the brilliant showing of previous bottles, but it deserves a round of applause. This is one of the few recent wines from the estate that I would prefer to drink in its youth. Tasted March 2015. - Neal Martin