2019 Clos de L'Oratoire is a superb St-Emilion at £140 per six in bond and scores 96 points from Jeb Dunnuck.  We have managed to source a parcel of this lovely vintage and offer it to you ex-château, arriving later this year

The estate is owned by one of Bordeaux's most charming characters, Count Stéphan von Neipperg, whose family also owns two great names on the right bank, Canon La Gaffelière and La Mondotte.  The von Neippergs were an old noble German family, involved in winemaking for centuries in Württemberg (home to Rainer Schnaitmann, whose wines we offered recently).  Stéphan's father began purchasing vineyards in Bordeaux in the '70s, but it was Stéphan who really brought them to prominence. 

We first met von Neipperg on a memorable visit to St-Emilion in 2005, when he was kind enough to lead us through an extensive tasting of his wines.  Every inch the German Count (habitually in a tweed jacket and cravat), he is always to be found at tastings showing his wines in person and is a passionate advocate for Bordeaux.  He also introduced biodynamic winemaking to his estates.  

Clos de L'Oratoire has 13 hectares of vines on Saint-Emilion's northeast slope, on a terroir called Fronsac molasse, consisting of sandy soils with clay subsoil, planted to 80% Merlot.  We have always enjoyed its elegant style, and most recently we worked our way through a parcel of the 2014, which was delightful.  Good as previous vintages have been, the 2019 seems a step-change in quality to us, reflecting a continued evolution at the estate as well as the inherent quality of the vintage. 

Re-tasting it last week in the office, we found a pretty, floral nose with a beguiling aroma of woodsmoke, intense dark cherry fruit on the palate, followed by crushed rock and fresh acidity, and an elegant, refined tannic structure we would associate with clarets from far more expensive châteaux.   

Please let us know if you would like to add this wine to your cellar.

Offered ex-château, available late autumn 2025.