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: 2015 Pape Clément, Pessac-Léognan

2015 Pape Clément, Pessac-Léognan (Pre-Arrival)

SKU #1253280 99 points James Suckling

Outer quote mark The clarity to this wine is impressive. Wealth of dark-plum and black-fruit essence not to mention orange citrus. Everything is dialed up to the limit here but then dialed in on the palate. Such impressive depth and suave, ripe, fluid tannins that deliver impressive length. Great wine. Such polish. Superb. Try from 2022. Inner quote mark (2/2018)

97 points Jeb Dunnuck

Outer quote mark As with the white, the 2015 Château Pape Clément is up at the top of the hierarchy and is a tour de force in Red Bordeaux that should be snatched up by readers. Coming from a 50-hectare parcel of the gravelly soils and harvest between September 25th and October 15th, it’s a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc that saw a long maceration (30-40 days) and 18 months in 80% new French oak. With a deep ruby/plum color and awesome notes of currants, black cherries, truffles, chocolate and graphite, this beauty hits the palate with a massive, full-bodied, opulent, sexy, yet never heavy style. With terrific concentration, perfect balance, and ripe tannin, as well as plenty of oak, give bottles 4-5 years of cellaring and enjoy over the following 2-3 decades. Tasted three times. Inner quote mark (11/2017)

96 points Wine Advocate

Outer quote mark The 2015 Pape Clement is blended of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc, matured in 80% new and 20% one-year-old French oak barrels for 18 months. Medium to deep garnet-purple, it opens with profound notes of crushed red and black currants, black cherries and cassis with touches of mocha, baking spices, menthol and lavender plus a hint of new leather. Medium-bodied, firm and concentrated with tons of tightly wound black fruit and earth layers, it has a grainy frame and refreshing lift on the long finish. (LPB) Inner quote mark (2/2018)

96 points Vinous

Outer quote mark One of the stars of the vintage, the 2015 Pape Clément is fabulous. Dark and beautifully resonant, it captures all the natural radiance of the year in the Pape Clément style. Super-ripe black cherry, plum, mocha, chocolate, new leather and spice effortlessly fill out the wine's ample frame. Soft contours and an open-knit, inviting personality are just two of the reasons the Pape Clément is going to be virtually impossible to resist, even in the early going. The blend is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot. Tasted two times.(AG) Inner quote mark (2/2018)

95 points Wine Enthusiast

Outer quote mark Dense and concentrated, this wine is fully structured and also has great fruit. It is dense, showing the ripeness of both tannins and fruit in this vintage. It will power through its development to be a very fine wine from 2025. Bernard Magrez. *Cellar Selection* (RV) Inner quote mark (4/2018)

95 points Wine Spectator

Outer quote mark Ripe and lush, with flashy anise, apple wood and mocha notes forming the frame and ample cassis, cherry paste and plum sauce flavors at the core for balance. Shows lots of sweet spice details through the finish, with the apple wood edge holding sway for now. A bold, glossy version that will please fans of the style after some time. Best from 2022 through 2035. (JM) Inner quote mark (3/2018)

K&L Notes

96 points Neal Martin: "The 2015 Pape Clement, a blend of 53% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon and a 'few' bunches of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, has a very pure and seductive bouquet with cranberry, blackberry, cedar and graphite, plusher than its peers but well defined with a sense of succulence that Pape Clement often conveys in great vintages. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannin, finely boned Pessac-Léognan with a complex, lightly spiced finish laced with tobacco and white pepper, a hint of clove on the aftertaste. This is a terrific Pape Clement that is showing much more sophistication and class than say, the 1998 Pape Clement that I tasted alongside. However it deserves a decade in bottle to show what it can really do. Chapeau!" (02/2018)

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2015 Pape Clément, Pessac-Léognan

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Product Reviews:

By: Ralph Sands | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 5/11/2016 | Send Email

Pape Clement- 56%CS 40M 4CF- As always this wine has very deep, sweet , black- red fruit with an exotic touch and lots of oak. The key here is that the fruit is very pure, the wine is perfectly balanced and the finish goes on and on. Clearly one of the stars of the vintage! 2 Stars from me!

By: Clyde Beffa Jr. | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 5/10/2016 | Send Email

Considering the 2009 is twice the price and the 2010 is almost three times the price, this wine rates a perfect score for value from me. Much better than the 2009 in my mind, this will eventually garner 100 points from someone. So sweet and sexy with toasty oak and red berry fruit aromas, Tons of mineral on the palate-Rounded tannins. A substantial wine that you can drink young or old.

Drink from 2020 to 2040

By: David Driscoll | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 5/9/2016 | Send Email

We all said to each other at the chateau while tasting this: "If Pape Clement comes out under $100 it will be one of the best values of the vintage." Sure enough we're under $90 now for the pre-order price and that means grab it while it's here. The 2015 Pape Clement is an elegant and refined marriage of 56% Cabernet and 40% Merlot (with 4% Franc) that is incredibly pleasant from the first sip. The fruit is fresh and concentrated, the tannins are fine and supple, and the finish is long and graceful. Some of us had this as a top 10 wine from the entire 2015 Bordeaux vintage. It might be one of the only that comes in under $100.

By: Alex Pross | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 5/9/2016 | Send Email

One of the wines of the vintage, the 2015 Pape Clement is a stunning wine. At a fraction of the cost of La Mission Haut Brion and Haut Brion this wine should be snatched up! Loaded with deep berry fruit(both blue and purple) as well as spice notes, liquified rock and earth notes the purity here is breathtaking. A classic in the making this is a flat-out fabulous wine.

Top Value! Drink from 2020 to 2060

By: Trey Beffa | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 5/4/2016 | Send Email

A blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc, this is a seriously good wine. Dark chewy fruit, intensely concentrated, hints of black cherry and smoke but not overdone, spicy, ripe and fleshy in the mid-palate; the finish is long and fresh. Definite buy!

Additional Information:

Varietal:

Cabernet Sauvignon and Blends

- Cabernet Sauvignon has come a long way from its role as a blending varietal, however dominant, in the wines of Bordeaux. Today it is the most planted red varietal in the world. Identified as a descendent of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, the late-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon needs to be planted in warmer climates to fully ripen. Its small berries can easily be identified for their distinctive blue color, thick skins and high tannins. And while the varietal has its own definitive characteristics: green pepper-like aromas and black currant flavors among them, it is perhaps most prized for its ability to convey terroir, vintage and winemaking. A relatively new varietal, Cabernet Sauvignon started making inroads into the wines of the Médoc and Graves in the late-18th century. Today it is also dominant in the up-and-coming Entre-Deux-Mers region of Bordeaux and can also be found in Southwest France. It is the companion varietal to Sangiovese in Italy's Super Tuscans and is planted all over Europe, stretching to lesser-known winegrowing regions like Russia and Lebanon. In the Americas Cabernet Sauvignon has found champions in every nook and cranny of California and among winemakers in Washington, where it complements plantings of Merlot. In South America, Cab thrives in Chile, but can also be found in smaller amounts in Argentina and even in Mexico.

Country:

France

- When it comes to wine, France stands alone. No other country can beat it in terms of quality and diversity. And while many of its Region, Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne most obviously, produce wine as rare, as sought-after and nearly as expensive as gold, there are just as many obscurities and values to be had from little known appellations throughout the country. To learn everything there is to know about French wine would take a lifetime. To understand and appreciate French wine, one only has to begin tasting them.

Sub-Region:

Bordeaux

Specific Appellation:

Pessac-Leognan/Graves

- Graves is the large red and white wine region located to the southeast of the city of Bordeaux along the Garonne River. Cabernet Sauvignon dominates the red wines from the area, while the whites are mixtures of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. The most important area within the Graves is the village of Pessac-Leognan. Most of the great chateaux, including Haut Brion, a premier cru and the only wine outside of the Medoc to be included in the 1855 Classification, are located in this small appellation. Graves derives its name from the rocky, stony terrain of the region. Many people believe that the stony soil radiates the day's heat at night and thus makes the grapes ripen earlier than the other regions in Bordeaux.