Le Clementin de Pape Clément 2021

Tim Atkin

Jane Anson - Inside Bordeaux

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2021 Clémentin de Pape Clément offers up a rich bouquet of plums and berries mingled with white flowers and licorice. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and charming, with lively acids and a nicely balanced profile, it's a blend of 49% Merlot, 49% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

This 32.5-hectare estate is surrounded by the city of Bordeaux, not far from Haut-Brion. In the vineyards, farming is thoughtful, with Esca-infected vines counted and registered by tractor, and both horses and an electric tractor are employed to avoid compacting the soils—and to respect the neighboring dwellings. While the château isn't organic, the use of chemical products is kept to a minimum, and activity in the estate's beehives is monitored immediately after a treatment to verify that there hasn't been any adverse impact. Planted in red with roughly equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon and in white with roughly equal parts Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon, Pape Clément produces some of Pessac-Léognan's richest, most dramatic wines, though recent years have seen a discreet turn toward a somewhat more restrained style, a shift especially obvious in the château's white wine: Merlot is picked a touch earlier than in the past; foudres and large-format oak barrels now supplement 225-liter barriques; and the percentage of new oak is more modest. While there's still room for evolution, these 2021s represent fine efforts in a challenging vintage.

James Suckling

Some sweet and lightly stewed strawberries, white pepper and wet leaves. A bit diluted on the palate with soft tannins and a light, easy finish. Drink now.