2016 Château Pape Clément
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Tasting notes
The 2016 Pape Clément has a very refined bouquet, ample blackberry and raspberry fruit, potpourri and black olive scents emerging with time. Fine delineation. The palate is medium-bodied, with sapid black fruit, gentle grip, a keen line of acidity and a pleasing underlying briny edge. Unmistakably Pessac-Léognan, this oozes typicité . Tasted blind at the Southwold 10-Year-On tasting.
Critic scores
James Suckling
Wine Spectator
More reviews and scores
Rich and confident, satin tannins that cradle the fruit, on the gourmet side filled with liquorice, black chocolate and espresso, great stuff, with poise and concentration. Tasted within the same week from a bottle that I have at home, as not at this tasting. Michel Rolland consultant.
Deep plum colour, beautifully rich with violet nuances. Just love this, combining silky texture, great balance, tension and poise, with cocoa bean, slate, liqourice, cassis and bilberry fruits. Has an effortless mix of concentration and lightness of touch. Harvest September 30 to October 19, Michel Rolland consultant. Feels the most signature Pessac Léognan of the lineup to date, with so much life ahead.
The 2016 Pape-Clément has a more understated but quite compelling bouquet of blackberry, wild strawberry, crushed stone and orange pith aromas. With aeration, it reveals impressive delineation. The medium-bodied palate offers supple tannins. There is a core of licorice-tinged black fruit, but I detect just a soupçon of greenness on the finish, as if one lot did not quite achieve phenolic maturity. Hopefully that will be assimilated with bottle age. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.