2016 Ronan by Clinet Bordeaux Rouge 750 ml

The 2016 Ronan by Clinet was one of the best values in Bordeaux at its regular $30 price, and that was before we secured a 50% discount. From the same 100-point powerhouse Pomerol team behind the famed $150+ Château Clinet, this “staggeringly serious wine” might be the Right Bank steal of the year.

Of the 10,400 wines that critic Jeb Dunnuck reviewed in 2019, less than one percent made it into his annual top 100 list—and the 2016 Ronan by Clinet clocked in as his number 14 wine of the year. It’s an impressive feat for a Bordeaux under $50, let alone one that we negotiated down to a mere $15 per bottle.

After one sip, we can see why the classic Claret-loving British press dubbed this project “the most extraordinary value red wine under the sun.” Black raspberry, red currant, cedar, mocha, and violet aromas impress right out of the gate before blackberry and red cherry, toast, and allspice converge on the palate. 

From a superlative 2016 vintage that Dunnuck summarized as “Firing On All Cylinders,” this is ripe and forward enough to please any New World red drinker, while the plush tannins and pronounced mineral texture maintain a lively Old World balance, finishing on a sophisticated note of tobacco.

Known as “The Marathon Man” of Pomerol, proprietor Ronan Laborde is used to leading from the front. He took the baton at his family’s Clinet estate in 2004, and has never stopped sprinting, substantially transforming the vineyards with environmentally friendly practices, rebuilding the winemaking facilities, and developing the infrastructure for Ronan by Clinet—his eponymous value project.

A keen runner, he’s a fierce competitor in everything he does, finishing third in the Marathon du Médoc, 66th in the 2010 Paris Marathon, and 94th in the 2011 New York Marathon, before staying still long enough to get appointed president of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB), the local trade organization for the region’s top producers.

We caught up with Ronan’s lovely English wife (and Clinet ambassador) Monique the last time she was in Napa. When we teasingly asked her if she gets any perks as the “First Lady of Bordeaux,” she winked. That’s when she introduced us to this Ronan by Clinet.

She divulged that her husband’s position as UGCB president has unlocked an unparalleled network of exceptional producers from which he can source top quality Merlot for his side hustle. That much was clear just on taste alone. 

A superb value for short to mid-term drinking, this 91-point Ronan by Clinet is priced to pop nightly but structured to impress, and will continue improving over its next decade of life.