Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Intense blackberry and blueberry aromas as well as mushroom undertones. Violets, too. Sweet tobacco. Full-bodied and layered with polished tannins. Very long and beautiful. Give it two or three years to show what it has but already a beauty.
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Jeb Dunnuck
In a vintage that can lack a little pizzazz, the 2014 Pape Clement stands out for its exuberant, sexy, full-bodied style. Checking in as a blend of 58% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance Petit Verdot, aged in 60% new French oak, its deep purple color is followed by a layered, ripe, sexy wine that has loads of currants, blackberries, smoke tobacco, and forest floor aromas and flavors, with just a touch of chocolaty oak. Silky and incredibly pure on the palate, with impeccable balance and sweet, yet present tannin, it’s already impossible to resist, yet is going to deliver the goods for another 20-25 years. It’s a beauty!
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Pape Clement is dark, sensual and alluring, with wonderful contrasts from riper and more savory elements that take shape in the glass. Super-ripe dark cherries, smoke, graphite, incense, tobacco and crushed rocks are pushed forward in a decidedly ripe, voluptuous Pessac endowed with notable personality. A second sample, tasted a day later, was much more mineral-driven and focused, with the fruit pushed to the background. Either way, the 2014 Pape Clement is one of the most overly modern, lush wines being made today in Pessac-Leognan. As such, it will appeal most to readers who like exuberance and opulence. While not exactly my cup of tea, there is no denying the 2014 Pape Clément is fabulous.
Barrel Sample: 92-95+ -
Decanter
This is a restrained version of Pape Clément compared to some vintages, and for me all the more successful because of it. Fine but firm tannins, there is a grip and lovely hold to the fruits, which in turn are dark, brambly, bilberry and cassis. Great potential for medium to long term. Without the swagger that the château displays in 2009 or 2010, but I love the stylistic expression here, from 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc. Good yields also, 45 hl/h, so it is concentrated but not overly so.
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Wine Enthusiast
Ripe and richly fruity, the wine is full bodied with great acidity as well as firm tannins. It will keep for many years. Bold tannins and a fine tension between the fruit and acidity are all promising for the future. Drink this impressive wine from 2025.
Cellar Selection -
Wine Spectator
Broad and hefty, with a wall of ganache out front, followed by steeped fig and blackberry paste flavors. The dense, loamy finish lets the toast hold sway. Shows more power than purity, but there's density and length here, too. For fans of the style.
Barrel Sample: 91-94 -
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
There is never a question of how much fruit the Château Pape Clément will show. This wine, always exhibiting great density, garners admiration from lovers of international styles of wine. The 2014 is simply masterful and well-mannered. Not over-the-top, but perfect in its juxtaposition of power and elegance. Its black fruit and fragrant flowers, with an excellent addition of sweet oak, make it sophisticated and refined.
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.