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2017 Château Pape-Clement

Not Currently In Auction

Latest Sale Price

November 10, 2024 - $71

Estimate

RATINGS

96Vinous / IWC

...possesses tremendous energy and richness from start to finish. Sweet red cherry, red plum, blood orange, spice and herb notes abound in an unctuous, racy wine of the highest level.

96James Suckling

Beautiful spice, tobacco, wet earth and blackcurrants with some raspberries. Aromatic and complex. Full-bodied, refined and layered with wonderful length and power.

95Wine Spectator

Very rich, featuring warm cassis and plum puree flavors, laced with singed wood spice, melted licorice and black tea notes. Reveals a tarry hint, but this stays decidedly modern and polished in feel...

94+ The Wine Advocate

The palate is medium-bodied and elegant with exquisitely ripe tannins, lovely energy and freshness and a long, mineral-laced finish.

93.1CellarTracker

93Jeb Dunnuck

Great notes of blackcurrants, smoked tobacco, gravelly earth, mocha, and hints of licorice all flow to a medium to full-bodied wine that has remarkable purity of fruit as well as polished tannins.

17Jancis Robinson

Rich, ripe and generously fruited on the nose. Blackcurrant and blackberry. Chewy, deep fruited but no lack of finesse thanks to the smoothness of the tannins even though they are compact.

PRODUCER

Château Pape-Clement

Château Pape-Clement is a 74-acre estate in Pessac. It is a Grand Cru of the Graves classification. The château is named after Pope Clement V, the 14th-century French pope who caused a major upheaval in the Catholic church when he briefly moved the papacy to Avignon. After the French Revolution the estate was sold to private owners. The vineyards were destroyed in 1939 by a hailstorm. A local agricultural engineer, Paul Montaigne, bought it and restored the vineyards. Today it is owned and operated by Bernard Magrez, who is Montaigne’s heir. The vineyards are planted to 58% Cabernet Sauvignon and 42% Merlot. About 45,000 bottles are produced annually. The second wine is Clementin du Pape Clement. Robert M. Parker Jr. has called Pape-Clement “one of the quintessentially elegant, complex, and most distinctive wines of Bordeaux.”

REGION

France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

Pessac-Léognan was created in 1987 from the northern part of the left bank Graves appellation. Before then it was simply part of Graves, or sometimes it was called Haut-Graves. Unlike many other Bordeaux appellations, Pessac-Léognan is known for both red and dry white wines, although its reds are more famous. The appellation includes ten communes and the area’s most important châteaux, including Château Haut-Brion, the only non-Médoc estate included in the 1855 Bordeaux classification. There are 2,964 acres of vineyards in Pessac-Léognan and 16 classified growth estates. The main red grapes grown are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, along with a small amount of Cabernet Franc. White grapes grown are Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, with a little Muscadelle. Pessac-Léognan is considered to have the best terroir of the greater Graves region.