Winemaker Notes
2023 was a challenging vintage, where tenacity, adaptability, and patience were once again important factors in crafting a great vintage at Château Pape Clément!
Our cool, clayey terroir allowed us to protect our white grapes from the very warm temperatures at the end of the ripening process, preserving the subtle aromas and the tension of the Sauvignon, while enabling the Semillon to fully express its unrivalled silky texture.
Blend: 60% Sauvignon Blanc, 35% Semillon, 4% Sauvignon Gris, 1% Muscadelle
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
Citrusy, showing white peaches and a touch of white pepper. Medium- to full-bodied and tensile, this has a touch of phenolics complemented by a sense of maturity, with linear, precise acidity and a saline finish. A blend of 68% sauvignon blanc, 27% semillon, 4% sauvignon gris and 1% muscadelle.
-
Wine Spectator
Warmed shortbread, macadamia nut and creamed yellow apple notes give this a showy persona up front. There’s terrific cut and drive, too, with lemon pith, fleur de sel and jicama details stretching out those initial components through the long and refined finish. Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, Sauvignon Gris and Muscadelle.
-
Decanter
Combining orange clementine, pink grapefruit and kiwi aromas, this is one of the brightest - and most non-opulent Pape Clément whites that I can recall tasting from en primeur. It reminds me a bit of the 2021 vintage. The finish shows a hint of pineapple but the wine is far more citrus driven, with breed and polish, excellent acidity and wet stone mineratlity. I am not sure about 96 points just yet, as it seems just a bit light on its feet for a Pape-Clément. Let's see how the barrel ageing will expand the palate, with a strong potential for a higher score. Tasted twice with similar results.
Barrel Sample: 95 -
Vinous
The 2023 Pape Clément Blanc is another strong vintage for a wine that has been in transition for a few years now. There's still plenty of textural richness in the Blanc, but less of the tropical character and flamboyance of some past years. Orange peel, mint, dried herbs, chamomile and crushed flowers open gracefully. All the elements are so well balanced. Tasted three times. –Antonio Galloni
Barrel Sample: 93-95 -
Jeb Dunnuck
One of the more serious whites in the vintage, the 2023 Château Pape Clément Blanc has a medium gold hue as well as a terrific nose of ripe stone fruits, honeyed flowers, and toasted bread. This carries to a more medium-bodied white with a vibrant, focused mouthfeel, integrated yet bright acidity, and a clean, crisp, mineral-laced finish. It's not up with the great vintages of this cuvée, but it's nevertheless a beautifully balanced white that will shine for a decade.
Barrel Sample: 91-94 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Aromas of white flowers, lemon oil, pomegranate and lemongrass preface the 2023 Pape Clément Blanc, a moderately weighted, sappy, layered and incisive wine with bright acids and a penetrating, mouthwatering finish. In comparison to previous vintages, the use of wood has been scaled back, allowing the wine to express a closer connection to its terroir and achieve greater precision in its aromatic profile.
Barrel Sample: 91-93
Sometimes light and crisp, other times rich and creamy, Bordeaux White Blends typically consist of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Often, a small amount of Muscadelle or Sauvignon Gris is included for added intrigue. Popularized in Bordeaux, the blend is often mimicked throughout the New World. Somm Secret—Sauternes and Barsac are usually reserved for dessert, but they can be served before, during or after a meal. Try these sweet wines as an aperitif with jamón ibérico, oysters with a spicy mignonette or during dinner alongside hearty Alsatian sausage.
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.