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Pape Clément 2018

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pessac-Léognan
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyMerlot/Cabernet Sauvignon

Owner Bernard Magrez has made serious investments here since the late 1990's and recent vintages have been outstanding thanks to extremely low yields, labour-intensive sorting of grapes and modern wine-making techniques. Quality bears no relation to the weedy wines of the early 1980's and before. The 42 hectares are planted with 45% Cabernet Sauvignon and 55% Merlot. However the 2018 vintage is made from 60% Cabernet Sauvignon - which is the highest proportion used here since 1986.

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château Pape Clément

Label

Tasting Notes

Coming from 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc brought up in 60% new French oak, the 2018 Château Pape Clement from Bernard Magrez is a gorgeous wine that's performing even better from bottle than barrel, which is always a good sign. Deep ruby/purple, with stunning crème de cassis and blackberry fruits as well as kaleidoscope-like notes of graphite, scorched earth, smoke, violets, and spring flowers, it offers full-bodied richness yet stays light on its feet, graceful, and almost ethereal on the palate, with integrated acidity and building yet seamless tannins. The Cabernet Sauvignon really sings at this point, and there's almost a Médoc-like regalness here. Reminding me of a slightly more elegant 2005 (it also has similarities to the 2016), it will benefit from 4-6 years in the cellar and keep for 30+ years.

99
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, March 2021

Aromas of wild blackberries, blueberries, dried lavender, cloves and eucalyptus with gravel and cocoa butter. It’s full-bodied with firm, powdery tannins. Polished and creamy with a core of ripe fruit that evolves to herbs, spices and chocolate. Fantastic concentration and seamless integration. Try from 2024.

97
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, March 2021

The 2018 Pape Clement is a blend of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc, aged for approximately 18 months in oak barriques, 60% new. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it rolls out of the glass with vibrant notes of crushed black cherries, stewed black plums and black raspberries, followed by suggestions of violets, star anise, cardamom and camphor with a waft of iron ore. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers exhilarating energy, offering crunchy black berry and exotic spice layers with a solid frame of ripe, grainy tannins and loads of freshness, finishing long and mineral tinged. Still very primary, it will need a good 5 years in bottle to deliver that next-level experience and will drink over the next 30+ years. Drink: 2026 - 2056

96+
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, March 2021

I love watching how Pape Clement is evolving with every vintage. There's still a bit of Venice Beach in its muscles but it has let some juice in between the firm tannins and it's all the better for it. There are ripples of freshness here too, with lots of fleshy fruit, and a slatey mineral finish that sits against chocolate and smoked cedar notes. It's clearly been carefully extracted yet still has the serious ageing ability and sense of confidence that is the signature of the property. 37hl/ha yield in 2018. Two-thirds new oak.

Drinking Window 2026 - 2042

95
Jane Anson, Decanter.com, April 2019

Tasted blind. A bit pinched and tarry on the end. Hole in the middle. More fruit please! 14.5%
Drink 2027 – 2039

15.5
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, February 2022

Black core, purple rim. Plenty of lively black fruit on the nose, then really thick and chewy on the palate. The alcohol, high generally in this vintage, shows here. Dense, chewy and a bit monolithic. Tough finish at the moment. For lovers of power rather than elegance, though I think it would be too much for the table.
Drink 2028-2036

16.5
Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2019

Deep ruby in colour with an explosive nose of clove, mint, black cherry and almond. The palate is silky smooth, with opulent, creamy vanilla and ripe blackcurrant. The tannins are supple but mouthcoating, framing the fruit and adding a savoury crunch. The toastiness builds through the mid-palate to leave quite a smoky finish. However, the depth of fruit more than copes with this, leaving an impressively long and harmonious - if hedonistic - impression.

94+
Farr Vintners, Farr Tasting, April 2019

This is really well put together, with waves of steeped plum, currant and raspberry fruit, bolts of licorice and tar and a long apple wood accent on the sappy finish.

95/98
James Molesworth, Wine Spectator, March 2019

Dry and powerful, the style of wine here is certainly long-lived and yet while the tannins are huge and there is powerful astringency on the finish, the fruit manages to control these two elements well because it is so rich and deep. You would have to like oaky wines to be able to appreciate this, and, it is right at the extremities for me, but I think that this is a grand wine and it will age for an eternity, too.

17.5+
Matthew Jukes, MatthewJukes.com, April 2019
Read more tasting notes...

This is a very driven Pape Clément with fantastic density and finesse at the same time. Linear and driven, the finish goes on for minutes with incredible tension and focus. More cabernet. Refinement with power.

97/98
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, April 2019

This wine is a blend of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc to be aged for approximately 18 months in oak barriques, 60% new. Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Pape Clement is a little closed, slowly unfurling to reveal fragrant earth, crushed rocks, iron ore and tobacco notions over a core of crushed red and black currants plus kirsch, red roses and Ceylon tea. Full-bodied and wonderfully vivacious, it offers a solid line of firm and fine-grained tannins and amazing freshness, finishing very long and mineral laced.

96/98
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (April 2019), April 2019

From Bernard Magrez’s flagship estate, the 2018 Château Pape Clément checks in as a tentative blend of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc that will spend 18 months in 60% new French oak. This ripe, full-bodied, opulent beauty knocks it out of the park and boasts a saturated purple color to go with a monster bouquet of cassis and blackberry fruits intermixed with notes of smoked earth, graphite, spicy oak, and spring flowers. Possessing ripe, silky tannins (and plenty of them), remarkable purity of fruit, a stacked mid-palate, and a great, great finish, it ranks in the top tier in the vintage, and despite having the fruit to drink nicely in its youth, it’s going to age effortlessly. It might very well be the finest wine from this estate in the past decade or more. Tasted on three separate occasions.

95/97
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, May 2019
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.