Pape Clement Rouge 2015 (5.0L)

99 JS / 97 JD / 96 VM / 96 WA / 95 WS

#41 James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of 2018

The clarity to this wine is impressive. Wealth of dark-plum and black-fruit essence not to mention orange citrus. Everything is dialed up to the limit here but then dialed in on the palate. Such impressive depth and suave, ripe, fluid tannins that deliver impressive length. Great wine. Such polish. Superb. Try from 2022. - James Suckling

As with the white, the 2015 Château Pape Clément is up at the top of the hierarchy and is a tour de force in Red Bordeaux that should be snatched up by readers. Coming from a 50-hectare parcel of the gravelly soils and harvest between September 25th and October 15th, it’s a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc that saw a long maceration (30-40 days) and 18 months in 80% new French oak. With a deep ruby/plum color and awesome notes of currants, black cherries, truffles, chocolate and graphite, this beauty hits the palate with a massive, full-bodied, opulent, sexy, yet never heavy style. With terrific concentration, perfect balance, and ripe tannin, as well as plenty of oak, give bottles 4-5 years of cellaring and enjoy over the following 2-3 decades. Tasted three times. - Jeb Dunnuck

One of the stars of the vintage, the 2015 Pape Clément is fabulous. Dark and beautifully resonant, it captures all the natural radiance of the year in the Pape Clément style. Super-ripe black cherry, plum, mocha, chocolate, new leather and spice effortlessly fill out the wine's ample frame. Soft contours and an open-knit, inviting personality are just two of the reasons the Pape Clément is going to be virtually impossible to resist, even in the early going. The blend is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot. Tasted two times. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

The 2015 Pape Clement, a blend of 53% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon and a “few” bunches of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, has a very pure and seductive bouquet with cranberry, blackberry, cedar and graphite, plusher than its peers but well defined with a sense of succulence that Pape Clement often conveys in great vintages. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannin, finely boned Pessac-Léognan with a complex, lightly spiced finish laced with tobacco and white pepper, a hint of clove on the aftertaste. This is a terrific Pape Clement that is showing much more sophistication and class than say, the 1998 Pape Clement that I tasted alongside. However it deserves a decade in bottle to show what it can really do. Chapeau! - Neal Martin, Wine Advocate

Ripe and lush, with flashy anise, apple wood and mocha notes forming the frame and ample cassis, cherry paste and plum sauce flavors at the core for balance. Shows lots of sweet spice details through the finish, with the apple wood edge holding sway for now. A bold, glossy version that will please fans of the style after some time. Best from 2022 through 2035. - James Molesworth, Wine Spectator