1972 Climens
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Tasting notes
The 1972 Climens is a vintage that I have tasted three or four times. Pale gold in hue. It has a pretty, quite "airy" bouquet with scents of orange pith, apricot and acacia honey. There is admirable delineation, though not intense. The palate is well balanced and lively thanks to its citrus bent, hints of mandarin and peach towards the finish. What a lovely Barsac from an off-vintage. Tasted at the château.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
Barley-sugar gold. Simple and sugary on the nose. Rather simple lemony character and rather facile sweetness I feel. Not bad and still vigorous but no complexity. Fine polished sinewy tannins on the finish. Soldiering on but without much subtlety. A little blobby and drying out. (JR)
TA 4.7 g/l (sulphuric), RS 104g/l. Very slow fermentation – lasted until January. Amber-tinged gold. Fragrant biter orange and caramelised oranges with a hint of almonds. Intensely sweet and honeyed on the palate even though analytically there is no reason it should taste sweeter than many other vintages. Rich and viscous and thickly textured. Mouthfilling and dense and complex and long but with wonderful balancing and lively acidity. (JH)
I was shocked at how good this wine was when I first tasted it. The year 1972 was dreadful but Climens managed to produce a wine with good ripeness, some hints of botrytis, a fleshy texture, and sound balance. Anticipated maturity: Now-may be in decline. Last tasted, 3/84.
About the producer
Château Climens is one of Sauternes-Barsac’s leading producers of sweet wine. Classified as a Premier Cru or First Growth in 1855 it sits alongside just 10 other Premier Cru estates in Sauternes, only bettered by Ch. d’Yquem, which was granted its own elite classification of Premier Cru Supérieur.