2008 Clementin de Pape Clement
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Tasting notes
The second wine, the 2008 Clementine de Pape Clement, is one of the finest examples of this cuvee yet produced. A blend of equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon with just a touch of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, it is a soft, delicious effort offering subtle notes of smoke and barbecue spices intermixed with black currants, plums, and cherries. The tannins are almost non-existent in this plush wine that is meant to be drunk during its first decade of life. The flagship estate of one of the most remarkable men in France, Bernard Magrez, it counts Michel Rolland as their guru-in-chief. The viticultural work is meticulous, with de-leafing and crop-thinning, all the grapes are hand-harvested in small plastic crates, and are destemmed by hand by more than 200 people - unheard of anywhere else in Bordeaux. The wine receives a Burgundian-like punch-down treatment, a month-long maceration, and the wine is moved by gravity (rather than traumatic pumps) through all the different steps of winemaking. It is aged on its lees for nearly a year. For over a decade now, the result has been one of the greatest wines of Bordeaux, clearly a wine of first-growth quality.
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About the producer
Among the oldest estates in Bordeaux, Ch. Pape Clément has been guided into the modern era by Bernard Magrez, who has managed the estate since 1985. It makes some of the best reds in the region.