Château Pape Clément 2015

Powerful aromas of exotic fruits and pear; a bold, full-bodied style yet with surprising freshness, exuberant and generous, with a long, fire-driven finish; those who enjoy powerful white wines will take great delight in this biblical drop. Best enjoyed young.

This is a large-scale version, with a prominent brioche and macadamia nut frame around creamed Jonagold apple, pear and white peach flavors. The long finish is scored by heather honey and singed coconut notes. Powerfully rendered, but with its own form of purity as well. Drink now through 2024.

Ripe white stone fruit shows jammy aspects, as this is the most opulent of all the wines assessed in this tasting. While 2014 is clearly the better wine, with more precision and focus, the general style at Pape Clément emphasizes richness, so readers seeking more linearity and focus at Pape Clément should look for cooler vintages like 2014. But if you love the ostentatious style, 2015 is your ticket: a big wine with enough balancing acidity.

Very impressive pear and dried-peach fruits with very subtle mealy, savory notes. The palate delivers impressive weight, amazing power and depth here. Richness and great prowess. Tight now. Give it three or four years to open.

Not particularly aromatic though there is a light oily spice suggesting richness. Super-creamy on the palate, rounded and broader in the mouth than many. Deep, almost savoury but still cool and fresh. (JH)

With a pale yellow, green hue, the wine is packed with bright yellow citrus, pomelo, fresh-cut grass and floral notes. On the palate, the wine is sweet and vibrant, with a flinty edge. The wine was made from blending 55% Sauvignon Blanc and 45% Semillon.

Light yellow-green, silver reflections, reductive stink, juicy and discreetly sweet on the palate, fresh acid structure, some honey and caramel, oranges on the finish, medium length.

The 2015 Château Pape Clément Blanc is sensational stuff and, along with Domaine de Chevalier’s Blanc, a candidate for the white wine of the vintage. Made from close to equal parts Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon, with 10% Sauvignon Gris, from a 7.2-hectare section of the Pessac vineyard, it offers a perfumed bouquet of lime, lychee, crushed rocks, and green citrus. Fabulous on the palate as well, with full-bodied richness and a ripe, sexy, concentrated style, it stays fresh and lively and is an absolute joy to drink. You can drink bottles over the coming 4–5 years or cellar for 15+. Tasted twice and rated it 96 and 97, so I’m being conservative on the rating.

(50% Sauvignon Blanc, 40% Sémillon, 10% Sauvignon Gris, 29.5 hl/ha) Creamy, finely opulent, sweet bouquet, grapefruit, vanilla, mirabelles, apricots. Fruity, powerful, sweet palate with an opulent structure, sweet fruit, fine acidity, full aromatics, long, creamy finish. 18/20 2021 - 2035

Rich quince, peach pit, saffron, beeswax, intense and structured but this is ready to go. Always an opulent white wine, leaning into the vintage. Bernard Magrez owner.

Apricots, honeysuckle, fresh pineapple, and straw all leap from the nose of the 2015 Pape Clement Blanc, followed by hints of beeswax and cedar. The medium- to full-bodied palate has an opulent, oily texture, with lively acidity and heaps of tropical and citrus fruits, finishing long.

Broad and rich, mirabelle plum jam, yet with vigor and depth.

Harvested with almost no sorting, and at a less late picking date to preserve freshness and tension. Lovely fruity expression, freshness with a sensation influenced by Sauvignon.

The color is cloudy, but the nose shows lovely complexity with notes of vanilla, honey, and citrus. The wine is supple and fresh, with fine complexity and a nice balance between Sauvignon and Sémillon, even if the oak is not yet fully integrated. The winemaking and, above all, the aging aimed for a full-bodied, highly dense wine that is not yet fully disciplined, but it does have good freshness. Aging took place in a mix of barrels, eggs, and foudres. 50% Sauvignon Blanc, 40% Sémillon, and 10% Sauvignon Gris.

This 2015 was aged in barrels (55% new and 45% one‑wine) for 16 months. It shows convincing complexity through notes of peaches and acacia flowers, followed by a hint of flint. It surprises with its crunchy character on the palate, complemented by a luscious touch. A harmonious, sapid wine.

93–95. Barrel Sample. The wood is showing strongly here, giving a layer of spice to the generous perfumed fruit. It is going to be a rich, full wine, packed with fruit.