Wine Advisor
Pape Clement, Blanc 2018
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Description
Pape Clement, Pessac Leognan, Bordeaux, France, Still, White, 2012
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2018 Blanc is a blend of 57% Sauvignon Blanc, 39% Sémillon and 4% Muscadelle. It was aged for around 14 months in 55% new and 45% second-fill French oak barrels. It races out of the gate with flamboyant scents of pineapple upside-down cake, lemon meringue pie and honey-drizzled peaches, plus suggestions of orange blossoms and yuzu peel. The medium to full-bodied palate has a decadent touch of oiliness to the texture with loads of spicy sparks to the tropical fruit layers, finishing long with a refreshing burst of zestiness. It's a richer expression, for sure, but it really works and it is seriously scrumptious.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The Pape Clement 2018 Blanc slips languidly from the glass with tropical notes of warm pineapples, fresh mango and green guava plus hints of nutmeg, orange blossoms, lanolin and crushed rocks. Full-bodied, rich and seductive, it is absolutely laden with tropical fruit and spice layers, with a racy line to support and long, opulent finish. The blend is 57% Sauvignon Blanc, 39% Sémillon and 4% Muscadelle. Anticipated aging regimen is 14 months in 55% new and 45% second-fill French oak barrels.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2018 Pape Clément Blanc is quite pretty and understated. Lemon confit, marzipan, white flowers, mint and chamomile all grace this wonderfully expressive dry white from proprietor Bernard Magrez. As with all of these wines, the Blanc is done in a less opulent style than in the past, an approach that works beautifully here.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2018 Pape Clément Blanc is laced with white flowers, mint, passion fruit, apricot and chamomile. Here, too, the more restrained style that is typical at the estate these days is very much in evidence. The blend is 57% Sauvignon Blanc, 39% Sémillon and 4% Muscadelle, all fermented in oak, including larger 500-liter and 10HL foudres. Larger format oak adds an element of tension and brightness that is super intriguing.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2018 Pape-Clément Blanc offers attractive scents of white flower, honeysuckle, tangerine and yellow plum that gently gains intensity with aeration. The palate is well balanced on the entry, displaying a waxy texture, but then it loses a little tension toward the finish. Nutty and smoky, quite forward and just missing the energy conveyed by the aromatics.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Due to be bottled December 2019, the 2018 Pape Clément Blanc has a fresh bouquet with nectarine, frangipane, crushed stone and pressed white flower scents, just a touch of gravel in the background. The palate is very well balanced with a fine line of acidity, more saline than previous vintages with touches of walnut and smoke towards the precise finish. Excellent.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
This is a cylinder of dense fruit and phenolic intensity, yet it remains agile and vivid with cooked-apple, honey and cream character, compounding the fantastic texture and structure. A great white with the same gravitas as a red.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
Beautiful aromas of lime curd, dried pear, grilled white peach and flint on the nose. So exotic on the nose. Some cream and honey, too. It’s medium-bodied with bright, tangy acidity. Creamy and focused with lingering dried-citrus and crushed-gravel notes. Long. Drink or hold.
About the Producer
Chateau Pape Clement is located in the Pessac-Leognan appellation in Graves, Bordeaux, France. The Château has been selected as a Grand Cru Classe de Graves for its outstanding red wines, and also produces very good quality white wines. In 1299, Pope Boniface VIII appointed Bertrand de Goth as Archbishop of Bordeaux. In the same year, Bertrand de Goth received a vineyard called "Mothe" as a gift for his appointment. In 1305, Bertrand Guth was elected as the new Pope and renamed Pope Clement V, hence the name Château Clermont. Leaving Bordeaux, he chose to leave the estate in the hands of his successors as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Bordeaux. This succession of bishops continued until the eve of the French Revolution. In the late 18th century, the then Archbishop of Bordeaux was dispossessed of all his property and Château Clermont fell into private hands. After several changes of hands, the estate was purchased in 1858 by Jean-Baptiste Clerc, a Bordeaux wine merchant. In the second half of the 19th century, the château was ravaged by powdery mildew, fungus and phylloxera, but it still produced some of the most acclaimed wines in the world, winning prizes in various competitions. As the 20th century progressed, Château Clermont was affected by natural disasters, economic crises and wars, and its ownership was sold several times. It was not until the 1980s that Château Clermont received its current owner, Bernard Magrez, and the double key, a symbol of papal power, became the hallmark of Bernard Magrez's products. The vineyards of Château Clermont cover 63 hectares of soft and complex soils with a mixture of gravel, sand, clay and limestone, with a subsoil of iron-rich limestone. The vineyard is planted with 55 hectares of red grapes, including 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, and the average age of the vines is 40 years. The vineyard is planted with 8 hectares of white grapes, including 45% Sauvignon Blanc, 45% Semillon and 10% Muscadelle, with an average age of 18 years. The vineyards are planted at a high density of 7,700 to 9,000 vines per hectare, thus creating competition between the vines and better ripening of the grapes. With a sustainable approach, Château Clermont Pope insists on pruning, leaf thinning and green harvesting of the vines, as well as managing the vineyards by animal farming and cover crops. Depending on the weather conditions each year, the winery arranges for a harvesting team of 30-100 people to pick the grapes separately from the different plots. In winemaking, Château Clermont Pope uses traditional techniques, supplemented by modern technology, to produce wines of the highest quality. The grapes are de-stemmed by hand in order to preserve the integrity of each grape. For white wines, the fruit is gently pressed using an airbag press before the juice is transferred by gravity to barrels for alcoholic fermentation. For the red wines, the winery controls the fermentation temperature between 29°C and 30°C and the maceration temperature between 27°C and 29°C to better extract tannins and colour, and the whole fermentation process usually lasts around 20-35 days. It is also worth noting that the grapes from different plots are fermented separately in small fermentation vessels to bring out the terroir of each plot and to provide more options for blending. The finished wines are transferred by gravity to carefully selected oak barrels for ageing. The red wines are aged in new oak barrels for 18-20 months, during which malolactic fermentation takes place, while the white wines are aged for 12-18 months, with the barrels kept at a low temperature during the ageing period. No chemical clarification is used during the bottling process. Both the red and white wines of Château Clermont are of excellent quality. The reds have great intensity and complexity, with a distinct smoky and spicy flavour, and are elegant, elegant and balanced.
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Package Size
12 x 75cl
