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2009 Château Pape-Clement

WA 99

JS 98

JD 96

WS 95

VN 94

JR 16.5

Not Currently In Auction

Estimate

RATINGS

99The Wine Advocate

...struts flamboyantly out of the glass, featuring beautifully opulent preserved black fruits, Morello cherries and Chinese five spice with underlying notions of truffles, iron ore and tobacco plus a waft of sandalwood. Full-bodied, the voluptuous fruit has a firm foundation of super ripe, grainy tannins and bags of freshness supporting layer upon layer of black fruit, exotic spices and earth-laced flavors, finishing very long.

98James Suckling

Wonderful aromas of plums and blueberries and flowers. Full-bodied with plums, stones, hazelnuts and milk chocolate, and a long, long finish. Marvelous.

96Jeb Dunnuck

...notes of blackcurrants, chocolate, cedar pencil, and loamy earth. It shows the ripe, sexy style of the vintage, yet most of its baby fat has melted away and it's showing a beautiful sense of elegance as well as classic Graves smoky, tobacco, and earthy aromas and flavors.

95Wine Spectator

Rich and muscular, with exotic roasted spice, braised fig and warm raspberry confiture notes that are supported by a broad baseline of dark cocoa, tar and freshly brewed espresso. Not shy about its modernity, but everything is in place.

94Vinous / IWC

...very intense, slightly smudged bouquet with heady red fruit laced with smoke, hickory and light earthenware scents... The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannin, well balanced with a fine bead of acidity.

16.5Jancis Robinson

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.