PV Tasting Notes
There really is no questioning the commitment of Proprietor Bernard Magrez and the winemaking talent of Michel Rolland, over the past decade they have produced a succession of stunning wines, the 2008 Clementin de Pape Clement follows in that tradition. Dense purple with glorious smoky fruit aromatics, hinting at charcoal, plum, blackcurrant, fresh earth and volcanic ash notes. Another of the wines made with Burgundian methods, this second wine is also as fresh as a daisy, the wine caresses the palate with sweet flavours and velvety tannins, this is a wonderful claret and should drink well for following release. Tasted March 2009
Independent Review88-89 points Robert Parker - The Wine Advocate April 2009
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.
Serve this with all manner of great foods like, Beef Tartare, Beef Carpaccio with spicy olive oil, Roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, Seared beef fillet, Beef Tagliata, Poached fillet of beef on red peppers, Beef stroganoff, Blackened beef steak, Tournedos Rossini with Madera Sauce, Beef olives with kidney gravy, Slow roasted four rib, Seared beef fillet, Beef and shiitake mushroom stir fry, Salt beef and horseradish mash, Sweet tangy chilli beef, Braised shin of beef, Roast fillet of lamb, Navarin of lamb, Braised duck legs, roast duck breasts and red cabbage slaw, Duck with soy, diced plum and honey, Pan-roasted duck with cherry sauce, Pan-roasted partridge with creamed Brussels sprouts and chestnuts, Roast grouse with neeps, savoy sausage and whisky honey sauce, Honeyed crispy duck, Venison with blueberries, Roasted venison with chocolate vinaigrette.