2009 Château Pape Clément, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux
Critics reviews
Lisa Perrotti-Brown - 14/03/2019
(Jancis Robinson MW - jancisrobinson.com - January 2013)
Pretty dark crimson. Hint of toastiness. Bone dry. Succulent. Real clarity and purity. Everything in the right place – dry but not drying finish. Wonderful balance. A real contrast to the white...!
(Jancis Robinson MW, jancisrobinson.com - Apr 2010)
(James Suckling - Wine Spectator - Apr 2010)
Robert Parker - Hedonist’s gazette - April 2016
A blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Franc, the 2009 Pape Clement is not as dense or provocative as the 2005, but it is a worthy competitor. Tighter and more muscular than the 2005, the 2009 reveals an opaque purple color along with notes of graphite, blueberries, and blackberries, stunning richness, a full-bodied mouthfeel, and tremendous length and intensity. Some patience will be required, and I do not believe this effort will achieve the near perfection of the 2005, but it is another winner in this extraordinary vintage. Yields were 43 hectoliters per hectare, and the wine finished around 13.5% alcohol. (Tasted four times.)
Historically one of the oldest vineyards in Bordeaux (having once been owned by Pope Clement, who gets more credit for what he did in Chateauneuf du Pape than in Graves), this 700-year old Pessac vineyard has turned out another profound wine under the administration of proprietor Bernard Magrez.
(Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - April 2010)
About this WINE
Chateau Pape Clement
Château Pape Clément is a Cru Classé Graves property that has one of the oldest documented histories of any Bordeaux vineyard, having been planted in 1300 by Bernard de Groth, the future Pope Clément V. In 1939 the estate was bought by the Montagne family and is now owned and run by Léo Montagne.
Pape Clément is located in the Bordeaux suburb of Pessac and consists of a chai and 32 hectares of vineyards, planted with Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Merlot (40%) and small amounts of Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Muscadelle.
The quality of the wines at Pape Clément slipped in the 1960s and 70s, largely because of under-investment. Bernard Magrez was appointed as general manager in 1985 and he turned Pape Clément's fortunes around. He introduced more rigorous selection in the vineyards, as well as installing stainless steel vats and raising the percentage of new oak casks used in the maturation process.
Pape Clément now produces one of the finest clarets in Pessac-Léognan.
Pessac-Leognan
In 1986 a new communal district was created within Graves, in Bordeaux, based on the districts of Pessac and Léognan, the first of which lies within the suburbs of the city. Essentially this came about through pressure from Pessac-Léognan vignerons, who wished to disassociate themselves from growers with predominately sandy soils further south in Graves.
Pessac-Léognan has the best soils of the region, very similar to those of the Médoc, although the depth of gravel is more variable, and contains all the classed growths of the region. Some of its great names, including Ch. Haut-Brion, even sit serenely and resolutely in Bordeaux's southern urban sprawl.
The climate is milder than to the north of the city and the harvest can occur up to two weeks earlier. This gives the best wines a heady, rich and almost savoury character, laced with notes of tobacco, spice and leather. Further south, the soil is sandier with more clay, and the wines are lighter, fruity and suitable for earlier drinking.
Recommended Châteaux: Ch. Haut-Brion, Ch. la Mission Haut-Brion, Ch. Pape Clément, Ch Haut-Bailly, Domaine de Chevalier, Ch. Larrivet-Haut-Brion, Ch. Carmes Haut-Brion, Ch. La Garde, Villa Bel-Air.
Cab.Sauvignon Blend
Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.
In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.
In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and Australia.
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Description
With a lifted note of raspberries on the nose, Ch. Pape Clement’s red 2009 is dense, smooth and ripe. With toasty, spicy notes of new oak, this is a full, rich wine which will need some time to reveal its hidden secrets.
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