CHÂTEAU PAPE CLEMENT
2015 Cru Classé Pessac-Léognan
As usual here, there's no shortage of extract. Dark colour, sweetly round and very smooth, very ripe, seems pure and driven, but the overall impression is of a startlingly dry finish which grips hard. Does it have the fruit to match this in time? Rating: 91-92 L&S (Apr 2016)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2015 Pape Clément has a bright nose with finely delineated blackberry, cassis and light violet scents that unfold nicely with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied, harmonious and well balanced, with pliant tannins and a svelte, slightly peppery finish. The 2015 is lovely. Tasted blind at the 2015 Bordeaux Ten-Year-On tasting. Drinking range: 2026 - 2038 Rating: 92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jun 2025)
Still young, with flexed tannins and plenty of blackcurrant, blackberry puree and damson fruits. A little subdued right now, with the tannins exerting a strong grip, but in another few years it will open back up to fully reveal the spicy cedar and eucalyptus notes thtat come through on the finish. Mouthwatering freshness on the finish, impressive in what was a sunny vintage in a warm spot of Bordeaux. Michel Rolland consultant. Harvest September 25 to October 15. Drinking range: 2023 - 2042 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, Decanter (Nov 2021)
The 2015 Pape-Clément has a fragrant bouquet with quite plush, generous but well defined red berry fruit mixed with rose petal and incense, smoke and cigar humidor following later. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannin, crisp and focused. A seam of graphite emerges toward the finish. This is linear and correct at the moment. This should develop into a very fine Pessac-Léognan, one full of breed and sophistication. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting. Rating: 95 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jul 2019)
The clarity to this wine is impressive. Wealth of dark-plum and black-fruit essence not to mention orange citrus. Everything is dialed up to the limit here but then dialed in on the palate. Such impressive depth and suave, ripe, fluid tannins that deliver impressive length. Great wine. Such polish. Superb. Try from 2022. Drinking range: 2022 - Rating: 99 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Feb 2018)
One of the stars of the vintage, the 2015 Pape Clément is fabulous. Dark and beautifully resonant, it captures all the natural radiance of the year in the Pape Clément style. Super-ripe black cherry, plum, mocha, chocolate, new leather and spice effortlessly fill out the wine's ample frame. Soft contours and an open-knit, inviting personality are just two of the reasons the Pape Clément is going to be virtually impossible to resist, even in the early going. The blend is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot. Tasted two times. Drinking range: 2022 - 2035 Rating: 96 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2018)
Deepish crimson. Seductively ripe damson fruit. Rich and chewy, full-bodied and firmly structured for the long term. Much better balance than some previous vintages I have tasted. Drinking range: 2025 - 2040 Rating: 17.5 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Nov 2017)
Very dark. Sweet yet fresh - very beguiling initially but maybe a little overdone. Intense and almost as though concentrated. Rather dry on the end. Hard work on the end. Drinking range: 2024 - 2034 Rating: 16.5 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2016)
Rating: 88 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2016)
The assemblage is 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc, picked between September 25th and October 15th. A beautifully perfumed nose, the real essence of Graves, with a lightly quartzy gravel freshness, and a rose-petal and peony fragrance, draped over a little dusty blackcurrant and cherry fruit. A really charming and elegant structure on the palate, poised and precise, with beautifully framed fruit, black cherry, with liquorice and cocoa bean tinges. The tannins are so ripe, very elegant, present but not distracting, showing only in the middle and finish but adding to the harmony of the composition. An impressive barrel sample, tasted twice, with evident consistency. Rating: 17.5-18.5/20 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2016)
Clear reductive environment, saving the best nose for the consumer and not for en primeur. A lovely richly textured wine –really velvety with gorgeous purity to the damson and black cherry fruits. Drinking range: 2025 - 2040 Rating: 95 Jane Anson, Decanter (Apr 2016)
The 2015 Pape Clement is a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc. It was cropped at 40 hl/ha between 25 September and 15 October with berry by berry destemming. It has a drop-dead gorgeous bouquet that continues the ever greater finesse that has been imparted into this Pape-Clément in recent years. It is extremely precise, almost crystalline. The palate is underpinned by fine tannin, pitch-perfect acidity, a sense of cohesion and harmony that is outstanding. There is not a hair out of place on this barrel sample and it will doubtless evolve into one of the best wines this state has produced since the 14th century, when Bertrand de Goth was planting its first vines. This comes highly recommended - a Pape-Clément that will reward those who can resist temptation and cellar this wine for 10+ years. Tasted on four separate occasions. Drinking range: 2025 - 2060 Rating: 95-97 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2016)
The 2015 Pape Clément is stunningly beautiful. Rich, ample and powerful, the 2015 exudes richness. As always, Pape Clément is one of the most overt wines in Pessac, but the move towards picking a bit earlier gives the wine more energy than was the norm a decade ago without fundamentally altering the style Bernard Magrez and Michel Rolland favor. Dark red cherry, plum, menthol, licorice, blood orange and exotic spices are all very much alive. The purity of the fruit here is striking. This is one of the best recent vintages of Pape Clément I have tasted. The 2015 is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, done in about 80% new oak. Rating: 93-96 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2016)
Big, broad and overt in style, with a thick frame of espresso and roasted apple wood around a core of dense plum paste and cassis flavors. Strides along authoritatively, as melted licorice and fruitcake notes fill in on the hefty finish. Shows more style than terroir, but pulls it off. Rating: 93—96 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2016)
Château Pape Clement
Pape Clement stakes a good claim to being the oldest vineyard in Bordeaux. On his accession to post of Archbishop of Bordeaux in 1299, Bernard de Groth was gifted the land by his brother and planted a vineyard. Five years later Bernard was elected Pope Clement V, from which title the estate takes its name. Too busy with Papal business, the estate was handed over to the Archbishops of Bordeaux who owned it until the Revolution.
The common malaise of 20th Century wars, depression and general decline saw Pape Clement in the doldrums by the 1970's. However, under the ownership of the Montagne family and the stewardship of Bernard Magrez, Château Pape Clement has become one of the leading estates in Pessac-Léognan.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.