Pape Clement 2019 (Half Bottle 37.5cl)

The 2019 Pape Clement has turned out well in bottle, delivering a rich bouquet of cherries, blackcurrants, plum liqueur and blackberries mingled with notions of burning embers, licorice and a nicely integrated framing of new oak. Full-bodied, deep and concentrated, it’s a layered, fleshy wine, with a deep core of ripe but lively fruit, plenty of powdery tannin and a long, expansive, discreetly heady finish. This is a powerful, dramatic Pessac with a transatlantic accent and will drink well with only a few years’ bottle age.This 32.5-hectare estate is surrounded by the city of Bordeaux, not far from Haut-Brion. In the vineyards, farming is thoughtful, with Esca-infected vines counted and registered by tractor, and both horses and an electric tractor are employed to avoid compacting the soils—and to respect the neighboring dwellings. While the chateau isn’t organic, the use of chemical products is kept to a minimum, and activity in the estate’s beehives is monitored immediately after a treatment to verify that there hasn’t been any adverse impact. Planted in red with roughly equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, and in white with roughly equal parts Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, Pape Clement produces some of Pessac-Leognan’s richest, most dramatic wines, though recent years have seen a discreet turn toward a somewhat more restrained style, a shift especially obvious in the chateau’s white wine: Merlot is picked a touch earlier than in the past; foudres and large-format oak barrels now supplement 225-liter barriques; and the percentage of new oak is more modest. The style remains, however, rather oaky and extracted—the aesthetic, in other words, of the early 2000s. With a talented technical team in place and a superb terroir that’s beautifully maintained, I suspect that could easily change.