critic reviews
Burnt orange, russet, dried figs and apricots, sweet greengages, orange peel with intense, utterly beautiful dried lemons. Tasted during this vertical and again at home over supper with a plate of tangy Manchego and a brilliantly peppery Pecorino. 33% new oak. A late vintage, with harvest well into October, after a vintage that treated the Left Bank more kindly than the Right. Things got a little soggier in Sauternes and Barsac than in the Médoc, but this wine has a richness and depth that has powered through the years.
The 1996 Climens is attractive on the nose with vibrant scents of barley sugar, saffron, mandarin and melted wax. Fine delineation, it meliorates in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied, poised and a little more citrus than expected, tangerine and honey mixed with ginger towards the finish that fans out with confidence. Excellent.
The 1996 is a light wine, offering a lemony, citrusy, and white fruit-scented nose with notes of minerals and spice. Medium-bodied, with good acidity, lively fruit, some sweetness, and a youthful finish, this wine should be at its finest between 2003-2015.