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Pape Clément 2005

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

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

Label

Tasting Notes

Owned by Bernard Magrez, this great terroir a few miles from Haut Brion and La Mission Haut Brion has produced one of the superstars of the vintage. A blend of 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, Pape Clement’s 2005 has an opaque purple color and smoky barbecue and chocolaty notes intermixed with cassis and blackberries. There is also some underlying minerality in this full-bodied, super-concentrated wine, which has wonderfully sweet, well-integrated tannins. This majestic, multidimensional wines is one of the great, great wines of the vintage. It should drink well for at least another 25 years. Drink 2015-2040.

99
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (219), June 2015
96
James Suckling, Wine Spectator, February 2008

Tasted blind. Lustrous blackish garnet. Some evolution at the rim. Light floral fragrance. Then opulent fruit on the front palate with the merest suggestion of brett. Lots of flattery and fun with the tannins well in retreat. Slightly hot and sudden on the end. Not top drawer but very satisfactory.
Drink 2014-2025

16.5
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, March 2017

Good deep red-ruby. Superripe, expressive nose offers black plum, smoke, spices and leather. Denser, sweeter and fatter than the 2006; even more generous and forward today. But this impressively chewy and rich wine also has a powerful underlying spine and plenty of lurking power. Finishes very ripe and very long, with the tannins buried by smoky, minerally soil tones.

94
Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, June 2008

Very ripe, modern wine. Red berry fruit with definite confit notes. Oak a little apparent but has a huge depth of fruit and firm, gripy tannins. Drink 2014-2025.

17
James Lawther MW, Decanter.com, April 2006

Came 52nd out of 184 wines

16.5-
-, Southwold Bordeaux Tasting, January 2009
Read more tasting notes...

Probably the greatest Pape-Clement ever made, the dense purple-colored 2005 (a blend of 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Sauvignon) exhibits sumptuous notes of smoky scorched earth, graphite, melted licorice, and blackberries. Once past the exquisite perfume, the wine reveals full body, extraordinary concentration, plenty of chocolate, smoke, cassis, and blackberry flavors, and that unmistakable volcanic ash-like earthiness that comes from this appellation. The tannins are slightly sweeter than those found in most northern Medocs, but this is still a backward, large-scaled effort that requires 7-8 years of cellaring. It should last for 30-35 years.

98
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (176), April 2008

The possible perfection of this effort is not surprising given the way proprietor Bernard Magrez has been upgrading all of his estates, especially his flagship property, Pape-Clement. Over the last decade there has been a succession of brilliant wines from this terroir that is essentially sandwiched in a suburb of Bordeaux. The quintessential Pape-Clement, the 2005 is a blend of 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Sauvignon cropped at 38 hectoliters per hectare. Its dense plum/purple color is followed by a seductive perfume of crushed rocks, blueberries, raspberries, cedar, graphite, licorice, and smoke. Full-bodied and layered, it possesses blockbuster richness yet an ethereal delicacy and finesse that often seem incompatible, but the fresh acids, high tannins, and marvelous extract of the 2005 Bordeaux have all come together to produce something special, but that will require patience. This wine has some of the more supple, sweeter tannins of Bordeaux, but then again, it is a Pessac-Leognan, not a Medoc, and the percentage of Merlot is high for the vintage. I would anticipate this 2005 to be approachable around 2012, and last for 30+ years.

96/100
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (170), April 2007

The greatest Pape-Clement ever produced? There is no question that proprietor Bernard Magrez, backed up by the eminent consulting winemaker, Michel Rolland, has produced a succession of brilliant wines over the last decade or more. The 2005, a potential legend, boasts a dense purple color along with a glorious, smoky bouquet displaying notions of graphite, plums, cassis, licorice, and subtle oak. Full-bodied with magnificent intensity, beautiful fresh acidity, tremendous definition, and a powerful, moderately tannic, super-concentrated finish, this beauty should come into its own by 2010, and last for three decades or more. It is a prodigious effort!

96/100
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (164), April 2006

Wow. Gorgeous aromas of meat, chocolate, berry and currant. Full-bodied but very soft, with round tannins and a long finish. Sophisticated.

92/94
James Suckling, WineSpectator.com, March 2006

Particularly deep crimson. Rather more concentrated and oaky than most. A good rendition of the vintage in a more modern idiom than most Pessac-Léognans. Lots of extract and very obvious tannins. This should be a crowd-pleaser for quite a time. More ambitious than most, and therefore less relaxed. Drink 2016-26

17
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2006
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.