Description
When to drink: 2008 to 2025
Gabriel:
| Drinking maturity | Drink |
|---|---|
| Valuation | 19/20 |
| On 17 October 2001, I tasted a few lots of the wines that had just finished fermenting for the first time. The Sauvignon Blanc with a lavish citrus note and white peach and then the very surprising white Sémillon, which had 13 % vol. and a marvellous Williams pear tone, were really great. This is probably a blend of perhaps the best white Pape-Clément to date. Among the reds, the Merlot was rather lean, but with well-fitting muscles. The Cabernet Sauvignon showed astonishing depth, as powerful as in the 1986 vintage, but even riper in the tannins and therefore with much better warmth. Barrel sample in March 2002 of the finished blend with 50 % Cabernet Sauvignon and 50 % Merlot. The yield was dramatically low at only 28.5 hl/ha: dark, deep violet-purple, rich in the centre. Expansive, noble and already complex bouquet, lots of cassis and blackberries, but also noble woods, fruit tea, jasmine scent, lilac. Velvety, perfectly structured palate, sweet, fat tannins, black cherries and again this black berry, lavish, aromatic noble wood note, dreamlike elegance, a wine that has already found its harmony at an extremely young stage and is one of the most elegant among the greatest Pape-Clements to date. In terms of style, it is a 90 with an almost playful lightness, but with more race and endless length thanks to its higher acidity. An absolute top wine in the 2001 vintage. In terms of price, this 2001 is superior to the 2000 in every respect. (19/20). 05: At our Hirschenstamm, we each took a bottle of wine which we tasted blind. It was a high-standing conglomeration of 2000 Castello Luigi, 2001 Clos des Truffières, 2000 Le Plus de Fleur de Bouard, 2000 Châteauneuf deu Pape Domaine de la Mordorée Cuvée Reine de Bois, 2001 Grandes Anadas from Artadi, 2000 Vinedo Chadwick and 1999 Quilceda Creek. And a wine friend took the brilliant 2001 Pape Clément with him, which then led the whole field when we totalled up the points. And just as I was typing my tasting notes for this sample, I received the results of a blind tasting at an executive wine seminar in America. Only 2001 Bordeaux wines were tasted blind there. Winner with 99 points: 2001 Pape Clément. Second with 54 points; Ch. Margaux. Followed by Gazin, Clos L'Eglise, Pavie, Cheval Blanc, Cos d'Estournel, Haut-Brion, Ausone, Lafite, Léoville Las Cases, Latour and Sociando Mallet. These results seem to prove that my barrel tasting score of 19/20 was quite correct. Tasting note from January 2005: Extremely dense purple-purple colour. Sweet, delicate and wide-ranging bouquet, mulberries, raspberries, dried apricot peel, man's wort, verbena, buckskin, vanilla, chanterelles and light tobacco, simply intoxicating on the nose. Creamy, highly refined palate flow, velvety, a subtle, elegant fullness over the round, flattering tannins, long and sublime. A dramatic and yet very elegant wine that is close to the 20/20 point mark. Even crazier - it is drinking incredibly well at the moment. Will it close up again? 07: Rich purple-garnet colour. Completely open and surprisingly accessible, buttery, stewed black cherries, tobacco notes, black precious woods, vanilla pulp - simply intoxicating. The opulence on the palate is also rare for Pape Clément, creamy, soft, aromatic and with an erotic Pessac spiciness, like a thick, yet elegant Chambertin in terms of body. This is one of the very best 2001s of the Bordelais! 09: It is still too young. But among all Bordeaux that are still too young, it is worth a youthful sin. The bouquet alone belongs in the drug department. (19/20). 09: Rich, dark purple colour. Already an absolute delicacy on the nose, black cherries. Amarena touch, Brazil tobacco, exotic precious woods. Delicate and fine on the palate, silky flow, showing great flavour. One of the finest Papes that is very close to the Haut-Brion in terms of finesse! (19/20). 13: A magnum was to be our cigar companion. The bouquet is already completely open with the classic Pape spice nose, lots of plums, some cinnamon and liquorice, overall a very pleasant, expansive aroma. On the palate like velvet and side, the full-bodied tannins seem almost mild due to their rolling roundness, long, concentrated finish with tobacco flavours. Or was it the steaming cigars that left this final impression? 2001: INCRACHABLER PAPE! 2014: Dark garnet-purple colour, only slightly matured. The bouquet is intoxicating, with an almost "mouton" roasted note, fermented black tea, dark precious woods, cardamom, nutmeg oil, cedar, liquorice, smoke and lots of currants. A real orgy and somehow incomparable to anything - except Pape - in terms of its fantastic nose. Currently much more accessible than the 2000. Elegant on the palate, silky flow, quite comparable to the 1999 in terms of body. The balance is marvellous and the finish is endlessly long. A royal, feminine top Pape. The last Pape in the "laisser faire" style. Buy again! (19/20). 18: Very dark purple colour with black reflections. Amazingly open bouquet, lots of cedar and dark pepper notes, shows a remarkable depth right from the start, dense texture, very noble charisma. Silky on the palate, showing incredibly elegant tannins, sensational balance and a carbonic flavour that is almost exclusively black. Not a bulldozer, but a soothing classic. Wow. You can still find some offers on the market for around 150 euros per bottle. Compared to crus with the same rating, this is/would be a veritable pleasure sensation for the next 10 years. Or probably even more. (19/20) | |
