2001 CHÂTEAU CLIMENS 1er Cru Classé Barsac, Lea & Sandeman

CHÂTEAU CLIMENS

2001 1er Cru Classé Barsac

Grapes Muscadelle, Sémillon, Sauv Blanc
Origin France, Bordeaux
District Left Bank
Sub-district Sauternes-Barsac
Village Barsac
Classification 1er Cru Classé
ABV 12.5%

2001 is an incredible vintage in Sauternes, and one of my tasting highlights of the year was a full horizontal of wines from Sauternes and Barsac at the 20 year window. I tasted this Climens both at the time (in February), and again later in the year. It's a standout wine, with savoury dried herbs and saffron strands alongside still-juicy nectarine and fleshy white peach fruits, all kicked up a gear with freshly-grated ginger and lime zest. The whole thing is mouthwateringly tender and utterly moreish. 117g/l residual sugar, a yield of 6hl/ha, harvest 30 September to October 23 over three passes through the vineyard. 69% of the harvest went into the main estate wine. Drinking range: 2021 - 2040 Rating: 98 Jane Anson, Decanter (Dec 2021)


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The 2001 Climens has a well-defined, complex bouquet of dried honey, peach skin, quince and a light beeswax scent. Tight at first, it only takes a few swirls of the glass to get going. The palate is where the action is: very intense and concentrated with layers of botrytized fruit, lightly spiced with tangy marmalade, quince and nectarine notes, merging into saffron and gingerbread toward the very engaging, persistent finish. This is a magnificent Barsac that is only beginning to show what it is capable of. Drinking range: 2021 - 2055 Rating: 96 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Sept 2021)

The Climens 2001 has always possessed a deliriously complex and intense bouquet that is beautifully defined: dried quince and marmalade, honeycomb and antique furniture. There is an inchoate, resinous element that will surely surface over the next decade or so. This is a bouquet that demands attention and in this blind tasting, sticks out from the crowd, a sui generis. Since I last tasted it, the palate has opened up and is beginning to pump on all cylinders. It is wonderfully balanced with fabulous intensity and a long, citrus-tinged finish that is utterly beguiling. As Kate Bush once sang: "Wow". Drinking range: 2014 - 2040 Rating: 99 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Oct 2014)

Loads of orange peel and dried apricots on the nose here. Full-bodied, with a wild and exciting palate. Sweet yet racy. Electrifying. Great class and elegance. One of the best Climens I have tasted. Best after 2010 Rating: 97 James Suckling, The Wine Spectator

Château Climens

Barsac Premier Cru 1855 The name "Climens" appears to be derived from a local dialect word meaning unfertile land. It is one of the two Premier Cru properties in Barsac (the other being Château Coutet), although the golden age for Climens came later after Henri Gounouilhou bought the estate in 1885, guiding it through phlloxera and oidium, managing to expand the vineyards and, on occasions, rivalling even Château d'Yquem. In 1971, Château Climens was purchased by the great Lucien Lurton and is now run by his daughter Bérénice. The 30ha of vineyard are planted entirely with Semillon. The yield for the Grand Vin is very low, averaging 7hl/ha. The grapes are fermented in small barrels (a third new each year) and aged for 20 to 24 months before release.

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