Chateau Pape Clement (Futures Pre-Sale) 2011
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Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Nothing is reined in here, with lots of roasted apple wood and mesquite aromas that lead to dark, plush blackberry and plum paste notes. Rich and broad, but well-detailed, this pounds its chest a bit, but it's impressively done.
Barrel Sample: 92-95 Points -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I had the 2011 Pape Clement on four separate occasions and there was a slight sample variation, but this seems to be a fair estimate of its potential. A blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot and the rest tiny proportions of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, the 2011 offers notes of lead pencil shavings, charcoal, barbecue meat, black cherries, black currants and plum sauce. This is a medium to full-bodied, dense as well as strikingly elegant and precise wine. The purity, palate presence and potentially complex aromatics always stand out in a Pape Clement. This example should drink well for 15-24 years.
Barrel Sample: 92-94 Points -
Wine Enthusiast
This is a closed wine, dominated by dark, dry tannins and spice. The wine misses fruit with its solid core of dryness.
Barrel Sample: 90-92 Points -
James Suckling
The nose of violets, warm stone and blueberries is very impressive. Full body, with chewy tannins and a firm finish. Outstanding but like to see a little more fruit in the mid-palate. Chewy.
Chateau Pape Clément owes its name to its most illustrious owner. A man of the cloth born in 1264, Bertrand de Goth became Bishop of Comminges, in the Pyrenees Mountains, at the age of 31; he later became Archbishop of Bordeaux in 1299.
He then received as a gift the property in Pessac, the Vineyard de La Mothe. Taken by a passion for the vine, he continually took part personally in equipping, organizing and managing the domain in accordance with the most modern and rational practices. Nevertheless, on 5 June 1305 the cardinals met in a conclave in Pérouse and appointed him to succeed Pope Benedict XI, who had passed away prematurely after only eleven months of reign. Bertrand de Goth took the name of Clement V.
Supported by Philip IV, it was he who decided in 1309 to move the papal court to Avignon, thus breaking with Rome and its battles of influence. During this same period, the weight of his responsibilities led him to relinquish his property, giving it to the Archbishop of Bordeaux. Henceforward, the vineyard was to be known to posterity under the name of this enlightened pope.
The early period
Management under the clergy brings modernity The grateful Church perpetuated Pope Clement's work. Each archbishop in turn turned to modernity and technical progress, to the point of the wine estate becoming a model vineyard. In addition to especially early harvests, which remain one of its
special characteristics, Chateau Pape Clément is without a doubt the first vineyard in France to align vine stock to facilitate labour.
After the Revolution
At the end of the 18th century, the Archbishop of Bordeaux was dispossessed of his property. The papal vineyard became part of the public domain.
The 20th century
8 June 1937 was a dark day in the vineyard's history, when a violent hailstorm
destroyed virtually the entirety of the estate. Two years later, Paul Montagne bought
it and gradually brought it back to life. Thanks to his efforts, the vineyard returned to
its former rank and stood up to the surge in urbanization.
His descendents, Léo Montagne and Bernard Magrez, perpetuate this secular
tradition so that Chateau Pape Clément wines continue to delight the wine-lovers of today and tomorrow.