Château Pape Clément 2024

Noble, barrique-influenced nose with pronounced blond tobacco, wild berries, and a hint of cream; well-structured palate, crisp fruit, firm, ripe tannins, acidity lends drive, and a finish of very good length with a lingering red-fruit echo. Not a great wine, but a balanced Pape-Clément that will be enjoyable soon and should also age well.

Round and glossy, this has brightness and a sense of charm. It’s relatively straight but not light; the tannins have a salty grip, giving a firm yet fine outline to the expression. Serious but so refined and elegant. Succulent, clean, so pure yet still powerful. This is great. It’s lean and a touch austere still because of the acidity, but this will soften and broaden with ageing. A much more ethereal wine from Pape than usual, playing into the vintage rather than against it. Has great potential. 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend.

Tobacco, smoke, chocolate, and black cherries reveal their essence in the perfume, as well as on the medium- to full-bodied palate. The fruits on the mid-palate are juicy, crisp, and tannic, with a nice touch of salty cherries, chalk, chocolate, and spice that is on display from start to finish. Aging takes place in 40% new, French oak, amphora, and other assorted, neutral vessels. The wine blends 53% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Petit Verdot, and 5% Cabernet Franc. 13.5% ABV. Drink from 2028-2048. 93-95 Pts

Warm and rounded, the nose wavers between cherry jam, stewed strawberry, and Penja pepper aromas. Lovely aromatic richness for the vintage, marrying ripe fruit and spices. Straighter and fresher, the palate shows an immediate sense of restraint. But the crunchy fruit, supported by precise acidity, gradually takes the lead. The whole is balanced, velvety, and grows more generous on the finish, in a spirit true to the vintage.

The nose is juicy, ripe and tangy. It reveals notes of red cherry, Morello cherry, cranberry, blackcurrant, tangy strawberry and raspberry, combined with a hint of redcurrant jelly, a toasted edge (toasted hazelnut, cocoa, coffee in the background) and spicy nuances (licorice, a touch of vanilla), with peony in the background. The palate is fresh and fruity, with a tangy side of red cherry, cranberry, Morello cherry, wild cherry and blackcurrant, complemented by sweet spices (licorice, a hint of vanilla and nutmeg) and a toasted character (toasted hazelnut, coffee, cocoa). The tannins are well-built, indulgent and velvety. Lovely persistence and a mouthwatering acidity.