Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Tasted at BI Wine & Spirits' 10-Years-On tasting, the 2007 Pape Clement has a pure and refined bouquet, perhaps not with the same charm and personality of say Domaine de Chevalier or Haut-Bailly, yet with panache and class, kirsch and touches of blue fruit laced with cedar and graphite. The palate is medium-bodied with a touch of menthol on the entry. It is a slightly more exotic take on the vintage compared to its peers, yet there is commendable substance and spiciness on the finish that keeps you coming back. Tasted February 2017.
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Wine Enthusiast
A wine that is dominated by wood at this stage in its development. But the structure and the fruit are all there, waiting to slot into place in the next 2–3 years. Spice and bright black berry flavors layer with final acidity.
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Wine Spectator
Blackberry and mineral aromas, with hints of dried flowers, truffle and tobacco. Full-bodied, with a wonderful balance of cool fruit and fine tannins. Classy for the vintage. Best after 2012. 8,335 cases made.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Recognized for its superior reds as well as whites, Pessac-Léognan on the Left Bank claims classified growths for both—making it quite unique in comparison to its neighboring Médoc properties.
Pessac’s Chateau Haut-Brion, the only first growth located outside of the Médoc, is said to have been the first to conceptualize fine red wine in Bordeaux back in the late 1600s. The estate, along with its high-esteemed neighbors, La Mission Haut-Brion, Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Pique-Caillou and Chateau Pape-Clément are today all but enveloped by the city of Bordeaux. The rest of the vineyards of Pessac-Léognan are in clearings of heavily forested area or abutting dense suburbs.
Arid sand and gravel on top of clay and limestone make the area unique and conducive to growing Sémillon and Sauvignon blanc as well as the grapes in the usual Left Bank red recipe: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and miniscule percentages of Petit Verdot and Malbec.
The best reds will show great force and finesse with inky blue and black fruit, mushroom, forest, tobacco, iodine and a smooth and intriguing texture.
Its best whites show complexity, longevity and no lack of exotic twists on citrus, tropical and stone fruit with pronounced floral and spice characteristics.