Wine Advisor
Climens 1997
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at Roberson’s Sauternes Tasting. A little darker in colour, the Climens ’97 has marmalade, molasses, apricot, Manuka honey and yellow plum on the nose with just a hint of green fruit lending it freshness. The palate has good weight and a viscous texture: marmalade, quince, spice, refined but quite linear towards the finish and does not really “explode” like other vintages. It remains a strangely “unmoving” Climens given the vintage. Tasted May 2011.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Consistently one of the most profound wines of Barsac/Sauternes, this wine, made from 100% Semillon, is one of the most ravishing examples of just how much elegance can be built into a powerful race horse style of wine. The classic 1997 Climens boasts gorgeously pure pineapple, citrus, butter, mineral, and floral scents in its soaring aromatics. While it is not a blockbuster, it is medium to full-bodied, with extraordinary precision, elegance, and purity. This slightly sweet Climens should drink well young, but evolve nicely for 15-30 years. It is unquestionably a high-class Barsac. Anticipated maturity: 2003-2025.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted twice now - this wine still disappoints. The nose is very feeble and the palate just does not seem to have the class of its peers. Tasted several times with consistent notes. The last encounter at a vertical in June 2004. A light lemony hue. The nose has put on some weight: quite floral with notes of coconut and crushed almond. Moderate botrytis. But the palate still leaves a lot to be desired. Medium-bodied, minerally, quite aromatic and spicy but it severely lacks harmony and cohesion. Distinctly sharp, sour, blunt finish. Disappointing for Climens.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at Chateau Climens. This has a rather mushroomy nose with touches of clove, apricot and Manuka honey. Moderate definition and vigour. The palate is very odd: reductive, the fruit very subdued and the finish lacking weight and depth. Where has the freshness gone? This is a perplexing showing from a good vintage although Berenice said that it was in a dumb stage. Tasted April 2009.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Consistently one of the most profound wines of Barsac/Sauternes, this wine, made from 100% Semillon, is one of the most ravishing examples of just how much elegance can be built into a powerful race horse style of wine. The classic 1997 Climens boasts gorgeously pure pineapple, citrus, butter, mineral, and floral scents in its soaring aromatics. While it is not a blockbuster, it is medium to full-bodied, with extraordinary precision, elegance, and purity. This slightly sweet Climens should drink well young, but evolve nicely for 15-30 years. It is unquestionably a high-class Barsac. Anticipated maturity: 2003-2025. (No tasting note was provided in Issue 128. We have instead included the text of the tasting note from Issue 122)
About the Producer
Château Climens is a wine producer located in the Sauternes village of Barsac on the left bank of the Gironde river, south of Bordeaux. It was classified as a first growth in the 1885 Classification of Sauternes and Barsac alongside other châteaux such as Guiraud and Suduiraut. Climens is one of only a handful of châteaux in Bordeaux that produces its wines from only one grape: Semillon. The wine is characterized by fresh citrus notes, white flowers and spice, which becomes more honeyed and concentrated with age. Semillon thrives on the limestone-rich soils in the vineyards. Botrytis develops on the grapes because of the misty mornings, humidity and warmer afternoons that are typical during the months before harvest. If the grapes are not of the highest quality, or if botrytis has not properly formed, owner Bérénice Lurton and her team will not produce their top wine, the grand vin Château Climens. They have been bold enough in the past to declassify an entire harvest of fruit – either selling the grapes off to other producers rather than bottling as their own or releasing wines under secondary labels. The grapes are harvested and brought into the winery, plot by plot, where they are gently pressed before fermentation in oak barrels. Maturation takes place in French oak barrels on lees for about 20 months. Wines from the best vintages can last decades – a recent tasting of the 1921 vintage revealed a rich, balanced and zesty wine. Château Climens has been owned by the Lurton family since the 1970s (when it was acquired by Lucien Lurton), and in 1992 the estate came under the control of Bérénice Lurton (his daughter). In 2010, Climens began to practice biodynamic winemaking and viticulture, and the 2014 vintage was the first to be entirely certified as biodynamic. Chemical sprays were replaced with natural preparations and plant infusions, from flowers such as chamomile and juniper which are grown on the estate and dried in the attics above the chais.
1929(1)1940(1)1967(1)1986(2)1989(2)1990(3)1995(1)1996(2)
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