TWI
93pts
The Wine Independent
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2020 Clos Junet jumps from the glass with notes of black cherries, juicy blackberries, and red currant jelly, leading to wafts of fragrant earth and rose oil. The medium to full-bodied palate is lively and spicy with plush tannins and a floral lift on the finish.
This has aromas of blueberries, mulberries, plums, cloves and praline. Fresh herbs, too. It’s full-bodied with firm, ripe tannins. Nicely structured and fleshy. 60% merlot, 30% cabernet franc and 10% malbec. Drink from 2024.
Gorgeous floral on the nose, smells like Turkish Delight, with pink flowers, creamy vanilla and blackberry fruit. Smooth and supple, this has bite and tang to it - high acidity and fresh almost sharp fruits balanced by plush, bouncy tannins giving a wide feel that is also very controlled. Generous and forward, this has good movement and persistence from start to finish, with layers of red fruits, crushed stones, creamy vanilla, dried herbs - liquorice, tobacco, clove and aniseed, but all working together to give a complex and characterful mouthful of flavour and texture. Sculpted, fresh and refined. A lovely wine with approachability to drink today as well as signs it will age too. Still got some tension also and some mineral bite that I love. Vines are from a 3ha plot planted on a sandy clay soils located to the west of the St-Emilion limestone plateau.
A blend of 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 10% Malbec, the 2020 Clos Junet is a sumptuous, fleshy wine offering up aromas of cherries, sweet berries and rose petals, followed by a medium to full-bodied, rich and expansive palate, underpinned by powdery structuring tannins that assert themselves on the finish. Somewhat more structured than the immensely charming 2019, its lavish, ripe style will nevertheless lend itself to nearer-term consumption.
The 2020 Clos Junet is a sumptuous Saint-Émilion packed with inky dark fruit, chocolate, new leather, licorice and a good bit of oak. Clos Junet is not subtle, but it is incredibly delicious.
A good proportion of Cabernet Franc gives this wine a fine smoky perfumed scent. It has ripe berry fruits as well as a fine tannic element all balanced by acidity. The wine will be ready to drink from 2026.
Coming from the up-and-coming Paul Junet (who also consults at Château d'Aiguilhe Querre), the 2020 Château Clos Junet is an outstanding Saint-Emilion based on 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Malbec pulled from a tiny three hectares of vines located southwest of the Saint-Emilion plateau. This is slightly sandier soil, and the wine saw a standard 28-day maceration and aging 85% in 40% new French oak, with 15% of the blend raised in tank. Perfumed framboise, spice, dried flowers, and a kiss of minerality all define the aromatics, and it's medium-bodied, with firmer tannins, good balance, and outstanding length. Give bottles a year or two and enjoy through 2030.
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