Pape Clément 2022

Medium to full intensity ruby in colour, gentle smoke on the nose, along with liquorice and cocoa bean on the opening beats, good length here, perhaps a little tight still at this point but plenty of ageing potential, and an enjoyably fragrant wave of rose petals and orange peel on the finish. Heavy bottle. 35hl/h yield, native yeast fermentation, aged in a variety of differently sized casks and barrels, 75ha estate

Cask sample. Quite a change from the excessively concentrated wines of the past, in a vintage that naturally offers concentration! Deep purplish crimson. Rich, ripe nose and then some unintegrated acidity imposes itself. Decidedly unknit at the moment with acidity dominating tannins that are evident only on the very end. Sandy finish. A curious wine that is fresher and less exaggerated than earlier vintages. An attempt to lighten up perhaps?Drink 2029– 2040

The 2022 Pape Clément was picked 7-27 September at 35hL/ha, aged in 60% new oak. It has quite an open and expressive bouquet at this stage, with blackcurrant and bilberry scents. A more sensual Pape Clément perhaps, the oak is neatly integrated. Black olives emerge with time, hints of sea spray - this is certainly a wine you have to stay with. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins. Layers of black fruit laced with graphite and cedar, rending this 2022 quite Pauillac-like in style. Nicely controlled on the finish, this is a Pape Clément with breeding. Tasted four times. 2030-2065

The 2022 Pape Clément was impressive from barrel. Now that the wine is in bottle, it has evolved a very floral bouquet (strangely, there is a scent that reminds me of walking into the hotel reception of the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong, and I don't mean that necessarily in a negative way). Hints of musk, potpourri and bergamot filter through with aeration. The palate is very well balanced with saturated tannins. Mainly black-fruited, it is judiciously spiced and a little chewy toward the finish, where it just needs a little more precision and nervosité. Still, this is a very fine Pape Clément, one that deserves several years in bottle. 2030 - 2065

This is a very structured 2022 with powerful tannins that run the length of the wine. Yet it’s perfumed and fresh with flowers and subtle undertones of stone. Pure. It’s full but not heavy with backbone and structure. Lots of crushed stone and currants. One of the most transparent you Pape’s I have tasted. 60% merlot and 40% cabernet sauvignon.

The 2022 Pape Clement is composed of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon with a yield of 35 hl/ha. Deep garnet-purple in color, it is a little subdued to begin, soon unfurling to offer evocative notes of baked blackberries, boysenberry preserves, and plum pudding, followed by wafts of cassis, violets, cedar chest, and cumin seed. The full-bodied palate is rich and impactful, delivering layers of bright black cherries and baking spices with a lively backbone and fine-grained tannins, finishing long and energetic. pH 3.70.

Deep and intense, but not the full on ink colour that I might have expected. Cocoa bean, fig, rosemary, kirsch, cigar box, black pepper, mint leaf, this ripples with the exuberance of the vintage but the tannins are firm, musuclar and hold things firmly in place, ensuring a sense of proportion. This walks the line, it is a big wine that absolutely delivers estate signature, and has a clear sense of future potential, with plenty of complexity. Rises to meet the vintage, not overpowered by it. Will age well.