Château Pape Clément, Cru Classé, Pessac Léognan, 2020
This was our first impression of the 2020 vintage, and it had us eager to taste more. Pape Clement can have a tendency to prioritise scale over definition, however, Bernard Magrez and his team have found a perfect pitch this year. The bouquet is vivid with notes of violets, cedar, coal, dark brooding cassis and just a touch of menthol. The palate is broad and elemental yet there is a brightness and charm to the fruit; it’s pure, fragrant and packed with layers of mouth-coating bright dark berries. What makes this so engaging if the precision of fruit, not something we always associate with Pape Clement, and the profile of the tannins. If feels like the extractions have been spot on, embracing the character of the vintage, without any excess. One’s palate is left lifted with tantalising flavours of griotte, pure cassis and graphite.
critic reviews
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.
Aromas of rich cherries, cassis, burning embers, violets and dark chocolate introduce the 2020 Pape Clement, 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.
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.