Château Climens 2023

Aromatic, cool, stony, exotic fruit, saffron; dense palate without any heaviness, creamy texture, delicate fruit, precise acidity, a finish shaped by minerality. A highly elegant sweet wine, with great elegance.

A question mark for this venerable Barsac Premier Cru: Despite their best efforts, respecting biodynamic practices, the château team lost about 75% of the harvest to mildew, including top, old-vine Sémillon grapes (a miniscule yield of 2.7hl/ha) and the cloudy sample that I tried, exuding fine and fresh pineapple and orange notes, lacked expected energy. While very good, it seems to underperform in 2023, at least based on the sample that I had. It has 130 grams per litre of residual sugar and 4 grams of total acidity and a pH of 3.8. Ageing in 100% new oak.

How it is possible to sculpt such an opulent yet precise and delicious wine from such a tiny yield of 2.7 hl/ha is beyond me, but somehow Climens has achieved it. Stunning depths of juicy peach, nectarine, white tea, white truffle, pineapple, saffron, mint, concentrated yet airy with a slice of steel. Just 4,000 bottles produced instead of the usual 10,000, 130 g/l residual sugar. A tough vintage for Climens owner Jean-Hubert Moitry, but the results are impressive.

A personality largely built on freshness, with alluring notes of ginger and white pepper that persistently etch the palate. A lovely, refreshing liqueur. Flavors of mandarin and banana emerge on the finish. Racy, elegant, and taut.

Quietly intense and complex with a deep but bright golden hue. Aromas of lush, ripe fruit such as dried mangoes, jackfruit and a hint of minerals, with durian, saffron, honey, wax and cream. Refreshing Barsac elegance and sheer lusciousness in a not-too-sweet, medium- to full-bodied style. Long, round and silky, the finish tiptoes through the palate and up to the nose. Harmonious and quite effortless. Drink now or hold through the next three decades, if not longer.

The 2023 Château Climens is superb, notwithstanding its tiny yield of just 2.7 hectoliters per hectare and a mere 4,000 bottles produced of the grand vin. It reveals a complex, delicate and perfumed bouquet of beeswax, exotic fruits, ripe orchard fruits and spices. Medium- to full-bodied, fresh and crystalline, it is seamless in texture, animated by lively acidity and concludes with a long, precise and ethereal finish. This is not the most powerful rendition of Climens but rather one defined by precision and meticulous attention to detail. Entirely crafted from Sémillon, it contains 130 grams per liter of residual sugar.