Château Climens, 1er Cru Classé, Barsac, 2003

Name: Château Climens, 1er Cru Classé, Barsac
Brand: Château Climens
Price: 706.25 GBP

Available Vintages

all 2003 2007 2014 2016 2022 2023

justerini & brooks tasting note

An incredibly rich, botrytis-filled wine. Tasted in it's components as assemblage was not completed it showed deep concentration and a stunning purity of honeyed fruit and breadth of flavour. A remarkable wine.

critic reviews

89/100Neal Martin,Vinous

The 2003 Climens is missing a bit of complexity on the nose, just a little Alsace-like with age, a touch of petrol and quince. The palate is tangy on the entry, fine acidity considering the vintage, yet it lacks complexity and mineralité on the finish. I am not an ardent admirer of this vintage in Sauternes and feel that this is shown up by the superior vintages either side. Tasted at the Climens vertical at the château in April 2022.

DRINKING WINDOW 2022 - 2038

date of review 08/2022

90/100Neal Martin,Robert Parker Wine Advocate

Ex-chateau bottle tasted blind in Sauternes. The Climens 03 has always been a capricious Barsac: brilliant out of barrel but found wanting under vertical conditions. Here, amidst a blind horizontal, it fell somewhere between the two! This bottle offers a sweet ripe bouquet of candied orange peel, dried honey and fig that is missing a little delineation (as discerned on previous bottles.) The palate is ripe and rounded on the entry with a touch of spice that lends it a pleasant edginess. Mango and pineapple form the middle whilst the finish is composed and focused with commendable precision and citric acidity. To repeat comments I have made before, this is a decent Climens, but Berenice Lurton has made far superior wines in recent years. Tasted April 2013.

date of review 06/2013