Pape Clément 2020

Lots of blackberry, iodine and crushed stone here. Some black pepper and graphite, too. Full body and medium, fine tannins that have a powdery texture and open in the mouth. So much going on. Iodine and iron undertones with some raw mushroom bring you back for more. Muscular. This is for the cellar. Drink after 2027.

Aromas of rich cherries, cassis, burning embers, violets and dark chocolate introduce the 2020 Pape Clément, a medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy wine that's ripe, layered and generously extracted but also a touch deeper and more reserved than the flashy 2019. While it would be an exaggeration to say that this estate's red wines are making much of a shift in the direction of restraint, the style is certainly less aspirational than it was a decade ago. 2025 - 2050

The 2020 Pape Clément has a comparatively light, rather "aloof" bouquet that demands rigorous coaxing in the glass. This might be going through a dumb phase. The palate is very elegant and harmonious, exerting insistent grip and finely judged acidity with a vivacious, persistent finish. It's wonderful, but it needs time for the aromatics to fully open. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. 2030 - 2060

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.

Muscular tannins that have grip and staying power, exuberant while staying on the right side of the line, giving punch and definition without drowning the fruit. Cassis, liqourice, slate, crayon, crushed rocks, very much on style for Pape Clement and an excellent wine with staying power. Harvest started September 10. Heavy bottle. 60% new oak.

Full, embossed bottle a completely unnecessary 1,570 g. Cask sample taken 6 April to be tasted before 16 April. Phew … just made it. No more details given.
Dark purplish crimson. Not too heavy on the appetising nose even if a tad sweet on the palate with a rather demandingly drying, tart finish. But I know from experience that everything often falls into place by the time the drinking window comes around. But don't try to broach it before then.
Drink 2029 – 2044

The 2020 is equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, harvested two weeks earlier than usual here. Deep ruby in colour. Sweet and toasty in oak on the nose, there is enough juicy fruit underneath to keep everything in check. The fruit comes through more on the palate, all cassis and cherry, but it still has to compete with flashy, toasty oak. The harmony is there, and there is grippy tannin to add more edge to the wine, but this is a glossy, slick style.

(50% CS, 50% M)
An abundance of ripe black fruit to smell, right on the edge of raisiny; full-bodied, vigorous in acidity, firm in tannin, quite fine but making for a muscular impression and balance; intense flavor, strong and deep within its tannin frame, a light gravel impression behind the mass of fruit, quite long to taste and with good fruit persistence. A very particular style, that of the hot vintage plus fairly extracty winemaking. A solid, powerful, sinewy, low-yield wine. There is clearly a fine fruit core within the substantial framework, but little of the gravel aromas that are often there. This seems a bit old-fashioned in style in today’s winemaking context—none the worse for that, but worth observing. Needs a decade minimum. 2030–50.