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Pape Clément 2020

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

Owner Bernard Magrez has made serious investments here since the late 1990s and recent vintages have been outstanding thanks to extremely low yields, labour-intensive sorting of grapes and modern wine-making techniques. Quality bears no relation to the weedy wines of the early 1980s and before. The 42 hectares are planted with 45% Cabernet Sauvignon and 55% Merlot.

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Label

Tasting Notes

Lots of blackberry, iodine and crushed stone here. Some black pepper and graphite, too. Full body and medium, fine tannins that have a powdery texture and open in the mouth. So much going on. Iodine and iron undertones with some raw mushroom bring you back for more. Muscular. This is for the cellar. Drink after 2027.

98
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, May 2023

Aromas of rich cherries, cassis, burning embers, violets and dark chocolate introduce the 2020 Pape Clément, 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. 2025 - 2050

94+
William Kelley, Wine Advocate, April 2023

The 2020 Pape Clément Rouge has an incredibly intense bouquet with multi-layered blackberry and bilberry fruit, cedar and black olive compote aromas. Hints of vanilla pod and black truffle emerge with time. The palate is medium-bodied with firm and quite assertive tannins that frame a huge weight of fruit (more than Domaine de Chevalier or Malartic-Lagravière tasted alongside). It's not a subtle Pessac-Léognan for sure, but there is adequate freshness and a sense of mineralité and tension on the finish. It will require at least a decade in bottle but long-term, this will be magnificent.

95
Neal Martin, vinous.com, February 2023

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.

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

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.

95
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com, February 2023

Full, embossed bottle a completely unnecessary 1,570 g. Cask sample taken 6 April to be tasted before 16 April. Phew … just made it. No more details given.
Dark purplish crimson. Not too heavy on the appetising nose even if a tad sweet on the palate with a rather demandingly drying, tart finish. But I know from experience that everything often falls into place by the time the drinking window comes around. But don't try to broach it before then.
Drink 2029 – 2044

16.5+
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2021

The 2020 is equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, harvested two weeks earlier than usual here. Deep ruby in colour. Sweet and toasty in oak on the nose, there is enough juicy fruit underneath to keep everything in check. The fruit comes through more on the palate, all cassis and cherry, but it still has to compete with flashy, toasty oak. The harmony is there, and there is grippy tannin to add more edge to the wine, but this is a glossy, slick style.

93/95
Farr Vintners, Farr Tasting, April 2021

(50% CS, 50% M)
An abundance of ripe black fruit to smell, right on the edge of raisiny; full-bodied, vigorous in acidity, firm in tannin, quite fine but making for a muscular impression and balance; intense flavor, strong and deep within its tannin frame, a light gravel impression behind the mass of fruit, quite long to taste and with good fruit persistence. A very particular style, that of the hot vintage plus fairly extracty winemaking. A solid, powerful, sinewy, low-yield wine. There is clearly a fine fruit core within the substantial framework, but little of the gravel aromas that are often there. This seems a bit old-fashioned in style in today’s winemaking context—none the worse for that, but worth observing. Needs a decade minimum. 2030–50.

90/93
Michael Schuster, The World of Fine Wine, May 2021
Read more tasting notes...

The 2020 Pape Clément, which I afforded an hour’s aeration, has a very precise bouquet of pure blackberry, cedar, mint and violet aromas, quite discreet but paradoxically intense; these aromas are very seductive. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe, lithe tannins framing wonderfully pure black fruit laced with crushed stone and a judicious touch of white pepper. Seamless in texture, this is a sophisticated Pape Clément in the making, an outstanding wine that should age brilliantly in bottle. Drink: 2025-2060

95/97
Neal Martin, vinous.com, May 2021

Superb aromas of blackberries, crushed stones, iodine and graphite. Full-bodied with ultra fine tannins and a balanced finish. Such length and beauty. Very close to the 2019 in quality.

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

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2020 Pape Clement comes barreling out of the glass with bold notes of cassis, plum preserves and licorice, giving way to scents of cedar chest, crushed rocks, charcoal and pencil lead. The medium to full-bodied palate is tightly coiled with beautiful tension and a firm, finely grained texture locking in the layers of black fruits and minerals, finishing with great length and energy. The blend this year is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Merlot, aging mainly in French oak barriques, 66% new, with about 10% aging in large oak foudres. The wine will spend approximately 18 months in barrels. Drink: 2028 - 2060

96/98
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (May 2021 W), May 2021

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.

95
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com, February 2023

Powerful in colour, this has the glass staining red and purple colours that Pape Clément does so well. Touches of liquorice and cocoa beans, well handled, this gives power with one hand but takes it away with the other as the austerity and fresh mint leaf comes to the fore. Impressive, a really enjoyable, classically wrought but still full of concentration Pape Clément. Savoury, there is nothing too exuberant in the fruits but it exudes deft confidence.

Drinking Window 2028 - 2044

94
Jane Anson, Decanter.com, 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.