CHATEAU PAPE CLEMENT - Chateau Pape Clement Rouge 2019

The Grand Cru Classé de Graves proposed by Château Pape Clément in red is a wine with an impressive history that makes this winery a protagonist of a production activity in the Pessac area that has lasted precisely for several centuries.

Characterized by the highest appellation for the Graves production area, the vineyards of Château Pape Clément insist on the typical highly mineral terroir of this area, composed anciently of detritus carried by the Garonne estuary mixed among rounded pebbles, crushed rocks alternating with clay, chalk and sand with shells. In a nutshell, a strongly mineral mix where quartz, quartzite, jasper, agate, silica, and calcium alternate as the main components of a poor, strongly draining soil, varying in thickness up to 3 meters deep. The rocks reflect and absorb the sun’s rays, which are often weak at these latitudes, redistributing heat at night to contribute to better ripening of the grapes within an ideal microclimate that can vary completely if one moves further south or north from the Pessac area.

Château Pape Clément has for years now implemented single plot agriculture according to Terra Vitis specifications, introducing grassing in the vineyards, integrated pest management, green harvesting, and the use of animals for soil preparation so much so that it has obtained third-level HVE certification, the highest, based on biodiversity, phytosanitary and irrigation resource use objectives.

Harvesting is done by hand and precedes a selection of individual berries before crushing and transfer by gravity into 30/70-hectoliter wooden vats, where fermentation begins with maceration for 30/40 days with submerged cap, before racking and racking, again by gravity, into barriques where malolactic fermentation and 18-month aging take place.

On tasting, the Château Pape Clément Rouge shows a decidedly consistent dark ruby-red guise, opening on the nose with an elegant bouquet that ranges from red forest fruits to violets, from clear hints of balsamic herbs to a pleasant mix of spices and hints of roasting. In the mouth the attack is vigorous and structured, decidedly elegant, with a dense but not predominant tannic texture that precedes a very persistent finish with fresh and spicy return.

To drink Château Pape Clément is to fully immerse oneself in the history of Bordeaux wine and to enjoy the myriad nuances that the terroir of the Graves gives to the wine, so much so that it leaves ample trace in the memory of any taster.

Owner Bernard Magrez has made serious investments here since the late 1990's and recent vintages have been outstanding thanks to extremely low yields, labour-intensive sorting of grapes and modern wine-making techniques. Quality bears no relation to the weedy wines of the early 1980's and before. The 42 hectares are planted with 45% Cabernet Sauvignon and 55% Merlot.