Climens 2005 (750ML)

97 WA / 97 JS / 96 DE / 96 WI / 95 WS / 94+ VM

Tasted blind at the 10-Year On Tasting in Sauternes. The 2005 Chateau Climens just soars from the glass with layers of clear honey, marmalade, nectarine and minerals all beautifully carved. The palate is medium-bodied with fresh, vibrant honeyed fruit that builds and builds in the mouth in tandem with a killer line of acidity. Even though it is a convincing, great Climens, you also have the impression that it is only just beginning to show what it is capable of. Berenice Lurton and her team excelled in this vintage and it comes strongly recommended. Neal Martin, Wine Advocate

This great Barsac is just beginning to open up and not only has incredibly fine mango, papaya and star-fruit character but also something mineral. Great concentration and textural complexity right from the tip of your tongue to the end of the extremely long, very pure finish. You can enjoy this now, but I recommend cellaring it as long as you can, because this has at least 50 years of ageing potential! - James Suckling

Opulent apricot nose. Plump and robust, with rich mandarin fruit. A long, spicy finish. Drinking Window 2012 - 2030. (19/20) Stephen Brook, Decanter

Made from 100% Semillon, the 2005 Climens is medium gold colored. It has showy notes of pineapple upside-down cake, lemon verbena, and chamomile with hints of fresh hay, sea spray, and coriander seed. Very big, rich, and oily, it has a lively backbone to cut through the dense stone fruit preserves, finishing long and spicy. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Independent

Toffee, dried lemon rind and tropical fruit on the nose. Full-bodied and very sweet, with a dense palate of candied fruit and a long, sweet finish. Very concentrated. The botrytis spice creeps up on the finish. Best after 2013. 2,300 cases made. - James Suckling, Wine Spectator

Good full golden-yellow. Musky, very fresh aromas of crystallized citrus peel, minerals and toasted bread. The palate offers incredible sappy concentration and a saline aspect, not to mention a penetrating quality rare for this fruit-driven year. In fact, this begins almost light, then builds inexorably toward the back, finishing with a tactile impression of extract and an extraordinary sweetness that almost reminded me of the Suduiraut that I tasted just before it. Should go on for decades. - Stephen Tanzer, Vinous Media