France

Cabernet Sauvignon

Merlot

Cabernet Franc

Petit Verdot

Pape Clement

Chateau Pape Clement Cru Classe Pessac-Leognan

Bordeaux

Pessac-Léognan

The 2022 Pape Clement is composed of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon with a yield of 35 hl/ha. Deep garnet-purple in color, it is a little subdued to begin, soon unfurling to offer evocative notes of baked blackberries, boysenberry preserves, and plum pudding, followed by wafts of cassis, violets, cedar chest, and cumin seed. The full-bodied palate is rich and impactful, delivering layers of bright black cherries and baking spices with a lively backbone and fine-grained tannins, finishing long and energetic. pH 3.70.

by Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW

Deep and intense, but not the full on ink colour that I might have expected. Cocoa bean, fig, rosemary, kirsch, cigar box, black pepper, mint leaf, this ripples with the exuberance of the vintage but the tannins are firm, musuclar and hold things firmly in place, ensuring a sense of proportion. This walks the line, it is a big wine that absolutely delivers estate signature, and has a clear sense of future potential, with plenty of complexity. Rises to meet the vintage, not overpowered by it. Will age well.

Inside Bordeaux

Expert

Deep garnet-purple colored. Prances out with showy notes of raspberry coulis, fresh black currants, and plums, plus suggestions of cinnamon stick, lilac, and fertile loam. The light to medium-bodied palate has great tension and fine-grained tannins supporting the vibrant black and red berry flavors, finishing long and fragrant. The intensity and black fruit on here with no form of must concentration is impressive!

The 2023 Pape Clement has a deep garnet-purple color. The nose is very shut down to begin, needing a lot of shaking to wake up notes of stewed plums, crème de cassis, and blueberry preserves, plus suggestions of tar, licorice, dried herbs and crushed rocks. The medium to full-bodied palate is bright and juicy, textured by fine-grained tannins, finishing with impressive tension and length.

A blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2021 Pape Clement has a medium to deep garnet-purple color. It tumbles out of the glass with notions of plum preserves and Morello cherries, giving way to hints of cardamom, wild mushrooms, and cedar chest, with a hint of crushed rocks. Medium-bodied, the palate is satiny and invigorating, with bright red and black fruits and a minerally finish.

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2020 Pape Clement is composed of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot, and 1% Cabernet Franc. It is wearing quite a lot of oak on the nose at this stage, giving way to a powerful core of baked plums and blackcurrant cordial notes, plus wafts of Indian spices and crushed rocks. The medium to full-bodied palate is laden with lively black fruits and a firm, grainy texture, finishing long and earthy.

Amateur

The 2018 Pape Clement is deep garnet purple in color. It opens with pronounced notes of black olives and black truffles, with a core of prunes, blueberry pie, and camphor. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a firm backbone of chewy tannins and just enough freshness to support the subtle, nuanced fruit, finishing long and savory. 

Vanilje og krydder, deretter konsentrert frukt. Konsentrert og fruktig, har kraft, men er ikke tung, fin struktur, veldig elegant. Både rød og mørk frukt på denne.

Amatør

Still young, with flexed tannins and plenty of blackcurrant, blackberry puree and damson fruits. A little subdued right now, with the tannins exerting a strong grip, but in another few years it will open back up to fully reveal the spicy cedar and eucalyptus notes thtat come through on the finish. Mouthwatering freshness on the finish, impressive in what was a sunny vintage in a warm spot of Bordeaux. Michel Rolland consultant. Harvest September 25 to October 15.

Inky depths to the colour, this was the old school Pape Clement era, with big extraction, but the restrained character of the 2014 vintage has given a pared back wine that is totally charming at the ten year point, with smoky grilled oak notes alongside sweet damson, charred raspberry puree, a ton of grilled orange peel, balanced by satin tannins. Heavy bottle.

The grilled oak feels a touch intrusive on the nose, although it is melted away on the palate, and the tannic frame is still lending form and grip. Gentle black fruits, edges of liqourice, this is enjoyabe but falls away on the finish. So hard to maintain momentum in this vintage. 60% new oak, harvest October 3 to 5.

Tertiary notes of leather, earth, truffle, blueberry and raspberry fruits. Enjoyable, but more evolved than the last time I tasted this vintage ex-cellar. It's an enjoyable wine, soft and sappy, and easy to recommend. 100% new oak, Michel Rolland consultant.

Extremely closed, this has a wall of muscular tannins and maintains its monolithic expression even two years after I last tasted it. Keep checking in, because this is a stunning wine, with sweet liquorice, graphite, crayon, cassis, grilled herbs, , with the smoke and grilled herb quality Look to the 2009 if drinking soon, but this one will go the distance. 32hl/h yield, 100% new oak, Michel Rolland consultant.

Opulent mouthfeel, grilled sandalwood oak set against bitter chocolate, creamy damson fruits, pulses of cumin, marzipan and rosemary spice. A gourmet, rich example of the vintage, full of estate signature, and very enjoyable. 100% new oak for ageing, Michel Rolland consultant.

Presents a saturated, deep, intense ruby hue, accompanied by a lovely mixture of blackcurrant leaf, berries of the forest, shoe polish, smoke, graphite, freshly sharpened pencil, and a hint of smoke on the nose.⁠
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The palate echoes these aromatic notes, delivering a youthful, flinty, and refreshing wine with a mineral residue and lasting definition of black and blue berries, enhanced by minerals. The integration of tannins, acidity, and alcohol is commendable, offering plushness and depth alongside refreshing spiciness.

Fine wine advisor

Far younger and intense in colour than the 2000, this has black chocolate and slate flavours, balancing sweet, well-ripened cassis and raspberry fruits with fresher pulses of minerality. A lovely wine that is a great reflection of the finesse of the vintage. As it opens dried herbs of rosemary and garrigue come through, as does a cold ash character. 38hl/h yield. 100% new oak. Michel Rolland consultant.

Plum aromatics, soft ruby red heading to tawny around the edges. This has welcoming campfire smoke aromatics, with tar and earth, plenty of mint leaf freshness through the finish. You can find younger-feeling 2000 wines, as this was such a compact, tannic vintage that has proved stubborny slow ageing in many cases, but Pape Clement is located in a warm spot close to the city of Bordeaux, which means grapes reach full ripeness easily and may have contributed to it ageing a little more quickly. Yields were low (both naturally and through crop thinning) at 31.5hl/h, and the wine was aged in 100% new oak barrels. Harvest September 28 to October 10, 31.5hl/h, Michel Rolland consultant.

Great moment to drink this, with the structure fully softened, tannins integrated and the fruit gentle, edged by walnut, tobacco, cigar box, smoked cedar and grilled dried herbs. Bernard Magrez had owned Pape Clement for 10 years at this point, having arrived (through marriage) in 1985, and he was already making an impact in terms of its taste profile, building up concentration, but this remains a classically balanced Pessac Léognan, traditional in feel. Michel Rolland consultant. 47hl/h yield. Tasted in the same week as this vertical, but at my house, with food.

Still very much holding up, soft smoky tar notes that are so typical of mature Pessac wines. Tertiary but still with fruit and life, sweet cherry, liquorice, tar, wild strawberry, fine tannins. In 1966, Château Pape Clément was owned by Paul Montagne, a Bordeaux wine merchant and négociant, who had purchased the estate in 1939. This was before the formation of Pessac-Léognan in 1987, and the wine was still bottled as Graves.

Category	Red wine
Vinmonopolet no.
Producer	Pape Clement
Vintages	2022
Country	France, Bordeaux, Pessac-Léognan
Bottle	75 cl

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Sugar	g/l

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