- 94
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- 95
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- 91
- Nick's Import
2021 Chateau Pape Clement
Named after its most famous owner, Pope Clement V, Chateau Pape Clement in Pessac Leognan makes both red and white wine from their 32.5 hectare vineyard. Vineyards for the red wine is planted to 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, while the soils here are a complex mix of gravel and clay over a base of clay, limestone and sandstone. Maturation takes place in 100% new French oak, and while Bernard Magrez has refined the style since taking over winemaking duties the wines are still rich and lush in style with a concentration of ripe fruit.
Other Reviews....
The 2021 Pape Clément exhibits notions of sweet berries and cherries mingled with rich aromas of espresso roast, black truffles, toasty new oak and loamy soil. Medium to full-bodied, deep and quite extracted in style, it's a rich, fleshy wine that gained in integration and harmony over the the three weeks I spent in Bordeaux. Tasted three times.
91-94 points
William Kelley - Wine Advocate (Apr 2022)
The 2021 Pape Clément is a tightly wound, reticent wine. A core of bright red-toned fruit lies behind a wall of tannin and acids that is pretty impenetrable at this stage. I imagine the 2021 will come around at some point, but it is pretty austere in the early going. Tasted four times. Drink 2031 - 2061.
92-94+ points
Antonio Galloni - Vinous
The 2021 Pape Clément was picked from 28 September until 14 October matured for a planned 18 months in 90% French oak and 10% in the foudres introduced in 2018. It is a completely diametrically opposite style to the previous vintages, partly a result of Michel Rolland handing the reins over to his right-hand man, Julien Vilaud, who has always had a different winemaking philosophy. On the nose: blackberry, sous-bois and cedar, not austere yet certainly a more reserved style. The palate is framed by quite gritty tannins, fine acidity, fresh and saline with modest depth on the finish that feels a little austere. Tasted several times, this is a fascinating, perhaps divisive Pape-Clément that might throw a few accustomed to its style of yore. One you have to get to really understand. Drink 2026 - 2046.
91-93 points
Neal Martin - Vinous
Pape made a very finely crafted and elegant wine this vintage, with plenty of berry, spice and earth character. Hazelnuts, too. Medium-bodied, savory and lightly spicy on the finish. Creamy tannins. Really fine, with lovely length.
95-96 points
James Suckling
The 2021 Château Pape Clément, which was tasted on numerous occasions, is certainly one of the more mid-weight versions of this wine that I can remember. Giving up attractive cassis and currant fruits as well as tobacco and a kiss of graphite, it's medium-bodied, mid-weight, charming, and forward. I think it will be an outstanding wine, but we're a solid step off the top wines in the vintage.
91-93 points
Jeb Dunnuck
Deep and concentrated with a nose brimming with smoke, espresso, red plums and dark cherries, wet earth and a touch of chocolate ganache. Concentrated, but seemingly less so than in previous vintages, the wine is fresh, bright, chewy, long and almost reserved, until you get to all the vibrant red fruits, espresso and smoky cocoa in the finish. The harvest took place September 28 - October 14. Drink from 2025-2050.
94-96 points
Jeff Leve - The Wine Cellar Insider
Concentrated and intense nose with subtle violet and perfume flecks. Quite chewy and grippy on the palate, this has more of a chunky frame than many others with mouthwatering acidity, plush tannins and a good dose of strawberry, blackcurrant and black cherry fruit edged by eucalyptus and liquorice. You get the liveliness but also the density and the gentle power and I love the minerality at the end, a touch of salinity as well as cedar, clove, bitter dark chocolate and slate. You've got a lot going on with this wine and it's one of the more confident wines from the Bernard Magrez stable in the vintage. This could be very excellent. 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend. Tasted twice. Drinking Window 2025 - 2045.
94 points
Georgina Hindle - Decanter