Red Chateau Pape Clement 2018

Still very reserved in style, majestic (or papal?), with great class, first-class tannins, polish and depth; exactly what one expects from this wine in this vintage.

A warm mocha note drapes elegantly over a prodigious core of steeped red and black currant and blackberry fruit, while waves of black tea, anise, fruitcake and applewood fill in on the finish. Structure is serious and well-embedded. Really well put together. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2025 through 2038. 15,833 cases made.

Concentrated dark fruit, evolving aromas of dark chocolate and cigar box. Slightly savoury, dense, and fresh. Subtle walnut, smoky blackcurrant, and smooth cherry notes. Smooth, integrated tannins with balanced acidity and a clean, moreish finish.

Aromas of wild blackberries, blueberries, dried lavender, cloves and eucalyptus with gravel and cocoa butter. It’s full-bodied with firm, powdery tannins. Polished and creamy with a core of ripe fruit that evolves to herbs, spices and chocolate. Fantastic concentration and seamless integration. Try from 2024.

52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. Black core with crimson rim. Darkest of black fruits, dark in oak spice too and yet there is also an inviting top note of red fruits that adds unexpected charm. Oaky char and sweetness on the palate, really generous in smooth dark fruit and smooth, firm tannins. Still needs time for the oak to recede but the fruit is moreish and the finish fresh. (JH)

The 2018 Pape-Clément has a very intense nose of blackberry, briar, cedar and crushed flowers. That showiness that I commented upon in barrel has ebbed away to reveal a most sophisticated nascent wine. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, layers of graphite-infused black fruit and a keen thread of acidity. An attractive touch of pitted black olive toward the saline finish leaves you wanting more. This deserves a decade in bottle, but it is a classy Pape-Clément that should age well over the next 30–40 years. Very promising.

Deep in color, the wine is filled with smoke, licorice, tobacco, dark red fruits, and cedar. Rich, full, and layered with depth of flavor, the lush, round, ripe, sweet fruits hit all the right notes you’re looking for. Give it a decade before pulling a cork and enjoy it easily over the following 20–25 years. The wine was made from a blend of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc.

Deep ruby garnet, purple reflections, subtle ochre brightening on the rim. Fine tobacco nuances, a hint of blackberries and preserved cherries, some nougat, a hint of black tea. Juicy, red berry nuances, red cherries, fine supporting and integrated tannins, mineral, already very harmonious, salty touch on the finish, good ageing potential.

Coming from 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc brought up in 60% new French oak, the 2018 Château Pape Clement from Bernard Magrez is a gorgeous wine that's performing even better from bottle than barrel, which is always a good sign. Deep ruby/purple, with stunning crème de cassis and blackberry fruits as well as kaleidoscope-like notes of graphite, scorched earth, smoke, violets, and spring flowers, it offers full-bodied richness yet stays light on its feet, graceful, and almost ethereal on the palate, with integrated acidity and building yet seamless tannins. The Cabernet Sauvignon really sings at this point, and there's almost a Médoc-like regalness here. Reminding me of a slightly more elegant 2005 (it also has similarities to the 2016), it will benefit from 4-6 years in the cellar and keep for 30+ years.

Kunz barrel sample 19: velvety, dense, spicy, complex, dark, finely opulent bouquet; prunes, black cassis, fine licorice, Black Currant, smoke. Concentrated, powerful, balanced palate with dense, dark fruit, diverse, intense aromatics, plenty of fine tannins, concentrated, muscular structure, very long, dense, aromatic finish with many lingering flavors. Successor to the 1986, but with modern vinification.

Concentrated, velvety, powerful, dark bouquet: black cassis, flint, dark tobacco, black olives, fine roasted notes, dark chocolate. Dense, creamy, multi-layered, aromatic palate with a creamy texture, varied dark aromatics, concentrated structure, very long, dense finish with plenty of lingering aromas. 19/20 2026 - 2050

A step up in deft, nuanced flavours, with a floral character coming through more clearly than in the older vintages (perhaps because of higher Cabernet Sauvignon, giving touches of raspberry leaf and rosebud). Tannins are still cloaked in silk, but there is a slate-like texture alongside that gives grain, flexibility and bounce. Extremely successful, one to put away for a few more years and then share widely. Consultant Michel Rolland, harvest September 20 to October 12.

The 2018 Pape Clement is deep garnet-purple in color. It opens with pronounced notes of black olives and black truffles, with a core of prunes, blueberry pie, and camphor. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a firm backbone of chewy tannins and just enough freshness to support the subtle, nuanced fruit, finishing long and savory.

Certainly one of the most beautiful Pape-Clément in history.

A great deal of finesse in this bouquet, which unfolds in a crescendo with filigree subtlety. Delicate hints of cocoa powder and blackcurrant, complemented by floral and spicy notes. The wine is dense, elegant, and driven by creamy, dense tannins that reach their apotheosis on the finish—tannins well-suited to ensuring excellent aging potential.

The nose is fruity, racy and offers power, a very finely tight grain as well as complexity. It reveals notes of fleshy boysenberry, fleshy strawberry and, more slightly, fleshy blackcurrant, combined with fine touches of violet, iris, purple plum, blackberry, very discreet hints of liquorice stick/mentholated liquorice, vanilla, as well as an imperceptible hint of blond tobacco and toast. The palate is fruity, balanced, silky, melodious and offers lovely definition, very fine grain, power, a fine mineral backbone and refined smoothness. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of boysenberry, fleshy blackcurrant and, more slightly, strawberry, combined with small touches of flowers, liquorice, chocolate, toast, as well as very fine hints of hazelnut, chocolate and a touch of vanilla (in the background). The tannins are fine and elegant. A very fine chew on the finish (pleasant and brings indulgence). Long finish with very lovely persistence. An imperceptible hint of toasted bread/toasted almond lingers on the aftertaste.

94–96. Barrel Sample. The wine is firm in stature yet shot through with vitalizing acidity. Its structure and full-bodied density are memorable and powerful. It has the potential for lengthy aging.