Chateau Pape Clement 2012

  • 97 Robert
    Parker
  • 94 Wine
    Spectator
  • 94 Wilfred
    Wong
  • 94 Jeb
    Dunnuck
  • 93 Wine
    Enthusiast
  • 93 James
    Suckling
4.4 Very Good (29)
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Chateau Pape Clement  2012 Front Bottle Shot
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Product Details


Varietal

Region

Producer

Vintage
2012

Size
750ML

ABV
13.5%

Features
Collectible

Your Rating

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Somm Note

Winemaker Notes

Blend: 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc

Professional Ratings

  • 97
    The iconic 2012 Pape Clement is a candidate for near-perfection as well as one of the wines of the vintage. From proprietor Bernard Magrez, this is a blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc. This extraordinary vineyard (a few miles to the west of Haut Brion and La Mission Haut Brion) has hit all the highlights of this vintage. Interestingly, the quality of the Pomerols and Graves wines in 2012 is closer to what one would consider a great vintage than the general image of 2012. This is truly great wine and not far off their magnificent 2005 and 2010. Full-bodied, with rich cassis, subtle burning embers and spice followed by velvety, well-integrated tannins, the wine is lush, expansive, savory and profound. This is a remarkable wine that could be drunk at a reasonably young age, but should cellar brilliantly for a quarter-century.
  • 94
    Densely packed, with lots of dark steeped currant, fig and blackberry fruit, slowly melding with muscular licorice snap, bramble, singed bay and ganache notes. The long, dark, ganache-coated finish isn't shy, but an enticing rusticity keeps this honest. A large-scaled wine that has really powered up since the barrel tasting. Best from 2018 through 2027.
  • 94
    Always one of the richest of the Pessac-Léognan reds, the 2012 Château Pape Clément offers a bounty of ripe fruit, sweet oak, and palate satisfaction. Drinks nicely now with a grilled Porterhouse steak. (Tasted: January 30, 2015, San Francisco, CA)
  • 94
    Offering perfumed notes of spice box, dried red and black currants, cigar wrapper, toasted bread and leather, the 2012 Pape Clement is medium to full-bodied, silky, elegant, and beautifully pure on the palate, with no hard edges, a seamless, voluptuous texture and a classy finish. It's already approachable, but it should evolve nicely on its overall balance.
  • 93
    Concentrated and rich, this has fine tannins that are integrated into the big plum fruits. It’s a black-fruited wine that has both the fruit and the structure to allow it to age well. Drink from 2020.
  • 93
    This is rich and decadent with lots of wet earth, tobacco, berries and hints of cedar. Full body, round and velvety tannins and a long, long finish.

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2009
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Chateau Pape Clement

Chateau Pape Clement

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Chateau Pape Clement, France
Chateau Pape Clement Winery Video
Origins
Chateau Pape Clément owes its name to its most illustrious owner. A man of the cloth born in 1264, Bertrand de Goth became Bishop of Comminges, in the Pyrenees Mountains, at the age of 31; he later became Archbishop of Bordeaux in 1299.

He then received as a gift the property in Pessac, the Vineyard de La Mothe. Taken by a passion for the vine, he continually took part personally in equipping, organizing and managing the domain in accordance with the most modern and rational practices. Nevertheless, on 5 June 1305 the cardinals met in a conclave in Pérouse and appointed him to succeed Pope Benedict XI, who had passed away prematurely after only eleven months of reign. Bertrand de Goth took the name of Clement V.

Supported by Philip IV, it was he who decided in 1309 to move the papal court to Avignon, thus breaking with Rome and its battles of influence. During this same period, the weight of his responsibilities led him to relinquish his property, giving it to the Archbishop of Bordeaux. Henceforward, the vineyard was to be known to posterity under the name of this enlightened pope.

The early period
Management under the clergy brings modernity The grateful Church perpetuated Pope Clement's work. Each archbishop in turn turned to modernity and technical progress, to the point of the wine estate becoming a model vineyard. In addition to especially early harvests, which remain one of its special characteristics, Chateau Pape Clément is without a doubt the first vineyard in France to align vine stock to facilitate labour.

After the Revolution
At the end of the 18th century, the Archbishop of Bordeaux was dispossessed of his property. The papal vineyard became part of the public domain.

The 20th century
8 June 1937 was a dark day in the vineyard's history, when a violent hailstorm destroyed virtually the entirety of the estate. Two years later, Paul Montagne bought it and gradually brought it back to life. Thanks to his efforts, the vineyard returned to its former rank and stood up to the surge in urbanization. His descendents, Léo Montagne and Bernard Magrez, perpetuate this secular tradition so that Chateau Pape Clément wines continue to delight the wine-lovers of today and tomorrow.

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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.

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Pessac-Leognan Wine

Bordeaux, France

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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.

FCA139300_2012 Item# 139300

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