2020 Château Pape Clement
We loved 2020 Château Pape Clément when we tasted it from cask last year, but after re-tasting it yesterday in-bottle, we are even more convinced that this is a wine you should have in your cellar. We have managed to source some additional stock from the château (at last year's opening price), which we now offer to you en primeur at £375 per six bottles in bond.
Jeb Dunnuck described the 2020 as "a gorgeous wine in the making", awarding it a potential 99 points. At the annual Union des Grands Cru Classés tasting in London, it stood out in a line-up of great wines (we will be re-offering a wider list of 2020s in due course). With exuberant dark fruits followed on the palate by impressive structure and fine tannins, this will be long-lived, but it was already open and approachable.
Pape Clément dates back to 1252 and was owned by the same wine-loving pope who made Châteauneuf-du-Pape famous, but it now uses drones and satellite technology in the quest for perfection. Dunnuck described the 2020 as "ranking with the top wines of the vintage", awarding it the same score as he gave the likes of Mouton Rothschild, Ducru Beaucaillou and Vieux Château Certan)! Stock is limited, so please let us know if you would like to order.
Bordeaux En Primeur, landing in spring 2023
Producer Profile
Château Pape Clément, Pessac-Leognan
Château Pape Clément is a Grand Cru Classé de Graves estate in the communes of Pessac-Léognan. The first recorded harvest here was in 1252. The estate was gifted to Pope Clement V after his accession in 1305 (he had previously been archbishop in Bordeaux and was known for an interest in wine). Subsequently Clement V moved his court to Avignon, leading to the establishment of Châteauneuf-du-Pape as a wine.
Pape Clément remained the property of the Arch Bishops of Bordeaux until the late 18th century. In the 1970s, Bordeaux merchant Bernard Magrez (and owner of Domaine de Chevalier) first bought shares in the estate, taking full ownership in 1980.
52 hectares are planted with red varieties; 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc. 7 hectares are dedicated to white varieties; 48.5% Sémillon, 44.5% Sauvignon Blanc, 5.5% Sauvignon Gris and 1.5% Muscadelle. In the last decade precision viticulture has been introduced, including drone technology.
