Dual 95-Point Bordeaux — “A Rich, Sumptuous Wine”
- 95 pts Vinous95 pts Vinous
- 95 pts James Suckling95 pts JS
- 94+ pts Jeb Dunnuck94+ pts Jeb Dunnuck
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2015 Clos de L'Oratoire St.-Émilion Grand Cru 750 ml
- Curated by unrivaled experts
- Choose your delivery date
- Temperature controlled shipping options
- Get credited back if a wine fails to impress
“Serious Depth and Intensity” Minus the Serious Price.
Clos de l'Oratoire has always flown a bit under the radar—and this is why it has long been one of our favorite values in Saint-Émilion The stunning 2015 is a charming, yet powerful and complex double-95-point gem that can be yours for a song.
Walking into the annual Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux event in Manhattan, in a sea of black suit-clad Châteaux owners and tasters, there stood a man impeccably dressed in a yellow polka-dotted ascot and maroon blazer. We recognized him immediately, one of our favorite wine personalities, the always classy Count Stephan von Neipperg—maker of this alluringly muscular, black-fruited Saint-Émilion beauty.
We barely got a handshake in before he thrust the 2015 Clos de l’Oratoire into our glasses: Dripping with fresh cherries and wild plums, the complex melange of cedar and violets, with flourishes of tobacco and leather captured our imaginations and gave us tunnel vision until we’d worked out the deal for this allocation, tableside.
Neipperg is an accidental winemaking genius: He never wanted to go into wine, but his family history in the wine business goes back over 800 years in Wurttemberg, Germany. He moved to France for an investment management career, but couldn’t resist the terroir and has since become one of the most beloved figures in Saint-Émilion. He was the first to spot the talent of the now-famous 100-point winemaker Stéphane Derenoncourt. Niepperg himself consults with a number of properties throughout Bordeaux, and the collaboration of this talented duo is precisely what has driven Canon-La Gaffelière and Mondotte, the sister properties of Clos de l'Oratoire, to their justifiably vaunted reputations.
The same team, keen eye for detail, and hard work are poured into every ounce in this bottle, for a fraction of the cost of its siblings. As Antonio Galloni said in his 95 point review, “All of the elements meld together in a rich, sumptuous wine endowed with serious depth and intensity.”
At today’s bargain price, we are stocking up on this crimson gem to enjoy over the coming decades. We highly recommend you do the same!