Clos L’Église 2016 is a small-production Pomerol from a roughly 6-hectare estate on Bordeaux’s Right Bank, with vineyards situated between Château Clinet and Château L’Église-Clinet. The wine is a classic Right Bank blend—**80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc**—and in 2016 it attracted notably strong critical attention. The élevage is ambitious too, with the wine matured in **100% new French oak**, a choice that helps explain both its polish and its dark, sweet-toned spice character. Alcohol has been reported around **15%**, and one technical note pegs the vintage at **pH 3.65**.

In bottle, reviewers describe a wine that balances Pomerol richness with definition. Neal Martin (Vinous) calls the bouquet “**delineated and very focused**,” highlighting “**rose petal and mint tinged red berry fruit**” with “**truffle and chestnut**,” and says the palate has “**more precision and mineralité**,” concluding that “**The 2016 is finally coming into its own**.” Lisa Perrotti-Brown (Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate) gives it **94+**, describing “**chocolate covered cherries, preserved plums and blueberry compote**,” plus savory notes (including “**tilled soil**”), and praises a “**wonderfully plush texture**” with “**just enough freshness**” to carry the fruit to a “**long, savory sparked finish**.”

Several reviews are excellent, led by **Jeb Dunnuck’s 97**, which frames 2016 among the estate’s best years and cites “**a flawlessly balanced, full-bodied 2016**” with “**sweet tannins, no hard edges**” and “**that rare mix of power and elegance**.” Jeff Leve (The Wine Cellar Insider) is close behind at **96**, calling it “**rich, lush opulent**” with layered black fruit, chocolate, truffle, and “**wet earth**.”

Wine Spectator is a touch more restrained at **92**, emphasizing immediate appeal—“**Hard to resist the fruit here**”—and suggesting **drink now through 2030**. Production is small; Spectator notes **1,500 cases made** (other sources cite roughly 1,000), underscoring its relative rarity.