2015 Chateau Pape Clément Pessac-Leognan 750 ml

The last time we offered Château Pape Clément, our members rated it a perfect five out of five. No wonder: Since taking over the almost 800-year-old estate, proprietor Bernard Magrez has never once sacrificed quality for quantity. His wines are among the most expressive, age-worthy, and flat-out delicious being produced in Bordeaux today. 

In Château Pape Clément’s signature style, the 2014 has the elegance and balance to satisfy the most discriminating Bordeaux connoisseurs, and the depth and richness to appeal to lovers of the best of Napa. In 2015, Château Pape Clément hit a new level, scoring 99 points and inspiring rave reviews. 

Expressive, with black and red currant aromas underpinned by mocha, black cherries, crème de cassis, menthol, and aromatic herbs, the 2015 Château Pape Clément shows from the get-go why it is among the most critically adored wines of Pessac-Léognan. Expansive on the palate, its grainy tannins and rich flavors of currants, toast, and baking spices all linger well into the next sip and promise decades of evolution.

James Suckling honored Pape Clément with a 99-point rating—rating it higher than Châteaux Haut-Brion and Latour despite it being a fraction of the price—calling it a “great wine” with “such impressive depth and suave, ripe, fluid tannins that deliver impressive length.” Jeb Dunnuck praised it as “a tour de force in Red Bordeaux that should be snatched up by readers” in his 97-point review. Wine Advocate singled out its “profound notes of crushed red and black currants, black cherries and cassis with touches of mocha, baking spices, menthol and lavender plus a hint of new leather.”

When Robert Emery, our VP of Wine and resident Bordeaux expert, first visited the estate, it was clear that Pape Clément spares no expense in elevating their already wonderful terroir.

Not unlike the ancient, awe-inspiring Château that Magrez has filled with priceless antiques, the wines of Pape Clément are show-stopping evocations of the best that Bordeaux is capable of. The sandy, gravel-rich soil studded with occasional limestone and clay throughout the 155-acre estate—first harvested in the year 1252—allows the vines to sink their roots deep, coaxing all of the character and intensity that the land provides.

Magrez then takes it a step further, following up expert hand-sorting in the vineyard with a “berry by berry” selection of only the best grapes on the sorting table. After that, the grapes are gently pressed, soaked for 30 to 40 days with their skins in order to extract the perfect amount of color and complexity, and aged for a year and a half in French oak, 80% of which is new. This final step lends the wine its generous spice notes and a plush texture that’s unusual for a wine that will age so brilliantly for the next 20-plus years.

That’s what Magrez has always done: squeeze the very best from every vintage he produces. It’s why Robert Parker himself has called him “one of Bordeaux’s most interesting visionaries,” and why the wines of Pape Clément have become such critical and sommelier favorites.