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Pape Clément Blanc 2020

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pessac-Léognan
ColourWhite
TypeStill
Grape VarietySauvignon Blanc/Semillon

The rare dry white wine of Château Pape Clément is made from around 50:50 Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc with a touch of Sauvignon Gris and Muscadelle. Made from an 18 hectare plot.

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

Label

Tasting Notes

One of the whites of the vintage, the 2020 Château Pape Clément Blanc is based on 62% Sauvignon Blanc, 33% Semillon, 4% Sauvignon Gris, and the remaining 1% Muscadelle, all of which was raised in a mix of new and used oak. This beauty stopped me in my tracks and offers a massive nose of honeyed limes, white flowers, tropical fruit, crushed stone, and orange marmalade. With the vintage’s vibrant sense of freshness, full-bodied richness, a stacked mid-palate, and a fabulous mouthfeel, this truly sensational white is an incredible achievement, and hats off to the team at Pape Clement! Give bottles 2-3 years and enjoy over the following two decades or so.

100
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, March 2023

I like the richness and focus to this with sliced cooked apple, lemon and light toffee character. Candied pineapple. Hints of meringue. Full-bodied and layered. Really delicious and flavorful now with a solid balance of phenolic structure. Classy. Agile. Drink after 2025 but hard to stay away.

97
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, May 2023

Offering up notes of crisp nectarine, lemongrass and white flowers, the 2020 Pape Clément Blanc is medium to full-bodied, satiny and seamless, with bright acids, attractive purity of fruit and a long, aromatic finish. This is the most elegant white wine produced by this estate over the last decade, and it has turned out well in bottle. 2022 - 2035

93
William Kelley, Wine Advocate, April 2023

The 2020 Pape Clément Blanc has a bright nose with scents of orchard fruit, orange pith and lime cordial scents, well defined and focused. The palate is fresh and mineral-driven, quite taut, much less oaky than other vintages and displaying more terroir towards the finish. One of the best whites from this estate that I have tasted. Tasted three times with consistent notes.

94
Neal Martin, vinous.com, February 2023

The 2020 Pape Clement Blanc rolls effortlessly out of the glass with impactful scents of honey drizzled peaches, fresh Bosc pears, and green guava, leading to touches of cedar and chalk dust. The medium-bodied palate is decadently satiny with bags of stone and tropical fruit layers, finishing with a refreshing lift.

94
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, March 2023

A delicious Pape Clément blanc, this has flesh, power, depth, character and a ton of juicy minerality with white pear, peach, and a slate-filled texture that adds grip and saline freshness. Well balanced and easy to recommend. Tasted three times.

Drinking Window 2022 - 2032

94
Jane Anson, Decanter.com, May 2021

Full clear-glass bottle (carefully wrapped in silver foil) 1,305 g. Cask sample taken 6 April – two weeks ago! The handwritten label asks me to taste it before 16 April. Oh dear … too many reds to taste!
Good lemon lift on the nose here. Really lively with some spritz and a kiss of oak rather than being dominated by it. This is clever winemaking with a mineral element. Really lively. I may be tasting this four days too late but it's still awfully impressive! Just the right balance of ripe fruit and fresh acidity. Sprightly even. Tension and a floral element. Great stuff! 13.5%
Drink 2022 – 2029

17
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2021

The 2020 is 67% Sauvignon Blanc and just 30% Sémillon, with 3% Sauvignon Gris to make up the blend. Vinification takes place in a mix of 30% new oak, together with used oak barrels, steel and cement. pH is low at 3.2, with an abv of 14%. Fleshy pears, vanilla and fresh pastries on the nose here. The palate is glossy and rounded, plump with juicy stone fruits and baking spices. There is enough vibrant acidity and pithy texture to cut through this flesh and leave some real tension. The oak is toasty and sweet for now, but this shows good promise.

92/95
Farr Vintners, Farr Tasting, April 2021

(67% SB, 30% SM, 3% SG)
Pale gold; rich, supple wine, moderate in acidity; dry, broad, quite mouthfilling, but lacking real vitality; plenty of matter, moderate length across the palate, and modest in scope and definition for its status. Good light length to finish. Good wine, of course, but not a top PC Blanc. 2024–30+.

90/91
Michael Schuster, The World of Fine Wine, May 2021
Read more tasting notes...

I like the richness and focus to this with sliced cooked apple, lemon and light toffee character. Candied pineapple. Hints of meringue. Full-bodied and layered. Really delicious and flavorful now with a solid balance of phenolic structure. Classy. Agile. Drink after 2025 but hard to stay away.

97
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2023

The 2020 Pape Clément Blanc is a clear step up from the Le Prélat and Clementin, delivering taut, mineral-rich citrus fruit aromas with vibrancy and tension. The palate is well balanced and seems less oaky than previous vintages when tasted from barrel. Ginger and lemongrass enliven the finish on this excellent Pape Clément Blanc. Drink: 2022-2038

92/94
Neal Martin, vinous.com, May 2021

Lots of white peach and red apple with crushed-stone and pine-needle undertones. Full-bodied, yet compact and linear with beautiful toffee, light caramel, praline and nougat character to the fruit. Hints of wood. It shows phenolic tension and form, yet remains agile and energetic. Impressive for the vintage.

97/98
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, April 2021

Pape Clement's 2020 Blanc leaps from the glass with gregarious notions of fresh pink grapefruit, Bosc pears and lime blossoms with hints of coriander seed, yuzu zest and white pepper. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers fantastically intense citrus and pear flavors with a racy backbone and silky texture, finishing long and fragrant. The blend this year is 67% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Sémillon and 3% Sauvignon Gris, with anticipated bottling projected to be taking place on December 14 and 15, 2021. The alcohol is 13.5%. Drink: 2024 - 2037

94/96
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (May 2021 W), May 2021
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.