Château La Clotte (St-Emilion)

The three hectares of Château La Clotte are enviably positioned between Châteaux Ausone and Pavie-Macquin on St-Emilion’s coveted limestone plateau. It has been owned by the Vauthier family since 2015. They also own Château Ausone, so it’s no surprise that Alain Vauthier was keen to add La Clotte’s incredibly similar and equally excellent terroir to his holdings. Although Alain has only owned the estate for a relatively short amount of time, its fortunes are certainly changing. What was once a relatively unknown and dilapidated château is now gaining an increasingly sought after reputation, although La Clotte doesn’t yet command the hefty price tag of its sibling estate. Merlot dominates on the plateau, with small amounts of the two Cabernets also grown and the wine is made by the same team as Ausone; with the whole process overseen by winemaker Laurent Vallet.