Château L'Église-Clinet

L'Église-Clinet is a long-held Durantou family estate in Pomerol. Denis Durantou took over its management from his grandfather in 1983; until then the family had been more focused on managing a large farm in Coutras than on winemaking. The cellars he inherited were rudimentary, with dirt floors and vats without temperature control, and he began modernizing them and focusing on quality. The estate was not a big name when he took it on. Following his death in 2020, his daughters took charge of the estate.

• Denis Durantou took over management of the family estate in 1983
• Cellars at the time had dirt floors and vats without temperature control
• In 2020 Durantou co-owned the estate with his family
• His daughters took charge of the estate after his death in 2020

Denis Durantou (1957-2020) was born in the Dordogne area and studied winemaking at the University of Bordeaux. Decanter's Bordeaux correspondent Jane Anson called him one of the few owners in Bordeaux who was also the viticulturalist and chief winemaker across his estates. His wife is the artist Marie Reilhac, and their three daughters are Alix, Noémie and Constance. As of January 2021, Noémie, a trained oenologist, was full-time winemaker with Olivier Gautrat, who had been Durantou's cellar master for more than 20 years, and Constance was key to the team.

• Noémie Durantou: trained oenologist and full-time winemaker (as of January 2021)
• Olivier Gautrat: winemaker alongside Noémie, Durantou's cellar master for more than 20 years (as of January 2021)
• Constance Durantou: key to the team (as of January 2021)

Decanter gives the estate's vineyard as 4.5 hectares. Durantou gradually increased the percentage of Cabernet Franc in the blend, using grapes from the estate's old vines, which had escaped the frost of 1956. As of January 2021, the plot used for Petite Église was not due to be replanted until 2022, and the family was still weighing rootstocks and whether to use massal or clonal selection for the Merlot.

• 4.5 hectares of vineyard
• Old vines that escaped the 1956 frost
• Cabernet Franc share of the blend gradually increased under Denis Durantou

Wine Spectator wrote that Durantou was respected for his precision, his attention to plot-by-plot vinification, and the freshness and elegance of his wines. Durantou told Jane Anson in a 2018 Decanter interview, "I believe in translating terroir as honestly as possible." He avoided new oak in his first decade at the estate, which let him learn how individual vineyard plots expressed themselves in the glass. As of January 2021, the estate used just two barrel makers, Darnajou and Taransaud.

• Plot-by-plot vinification
• No new oak in Durantou's first decade at the estate
• Barrels from Darnajou and Taransaud (as of January 2021)

The estate makes the grand vin, Château L'Église-Clinet, and a second wine, La Petite Église, which Durantou created in 1986 and which is sourced from a specific site in Pomerol not far from L'Église-Clinet. Stephen Browett, chairman of Farr Vintners, said the estate first came to his attention when he tasted the 1985 vintage.

• Château L'Église-Clinet: the grand vin
• La Petite Église: second wine, created in 1986

Beyond Pomerol, Denis Durantou bought Château Les Cruzelles in Lalande-de-Pomerol, with a first vintage in 2000, and Château Montlandrie in Castillon in 2009. The family's range also includes La Chenade, the second wine of Les Cruzelles, and Saintayme from St-Émilion.

• Château Les Cruzelles, Lalande-de-Pomerol (first vintage 2000)
• La Chenade, second wine of Les Cruzelles
• Château Montlandrie, Castillon (acquired 2009)
• Saintayme, St-Émilion

Primary sources (producer's own site): none; no producer website could be reached or confirmed on 2026-09-23. Secondary sources: Decanter, https://www.decanter.com/obituaries/denis-durantou-dies-pomerol-leglise-clinet-438338/; Wine Spectator, https://www.winespectator.com/articles/denis-durantou-bordeaux-winemaker-extraordinaire-dies-at-62; Decanter, https://www.decanter.com/premium/anson-leglise-clinet-moves-into-the-future-452444/. Last verified 2026-10-12.