1996 Pape Clement

Tasted at the property, the 1996 Pape-Clement is a wine that has been rather up and down in my past experience. Now at 20 years old, it has a fragrant, mild-mannered, well defined bouquet with scents of tobacco and black tea. It still has that leafiness to it, although I can abide that. The palate is medium-bodied with firm, slightly dry tannin. There is good body here although not the finesse shown by more recent vintages that I feel occupy a higher level. It just tapers slightly towards the finish with a prickle of spice, but I would have liked more substance and energy. It is not a bad 1996 by any means -- what it lacks is the panache and precision of more recent vintages. Tasted July 2016. Oct 2016, www.robertparker.com

Neal Martin    Score: 88/100