Pessac-Léognan · Graves classified growth (cru classé de Graves)
Château Pape Clément: available vintages, prices and pairings
The grand vin and its second wine, Clémentin de Pape Clément, vintage by vintage, with the format, the indicative price and what to expect from it today: ready to drink, or to keep. Tick what interests you, and the quote goes out with your selection.
Vintages on the price list
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Two wines, one estate
Same estate, same team, two uses.
Château Pape Clément
The grand vin. Cabernet sauvignon and merlot. A broad, generous red, ready at around eight years, which holds for twenty-five.
Clémentin de Pape Clément
The second wine, cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Ready at around three or four years, at a third of the price of the grand vin.
One of the oldest vineyards in Bordeaux: in 1305, its owner, Bertrand de Goth, Archbishop of Bordeaux, became pope under the name Clement V. The vineyard now lies within the town of Pessac, like that of Haut-Brion. Bernard Magrez owns and runs it, as he does La Tour Carnet in the Haut-Médoc. To know when a second wine is the right choice, see second wines of great châteaux. The appellation's other châteaux are on the Pessac-Léognan wines page.
The vineyard, some sixty hectares in Pessac, near Bordeaux, sits on a layer of clayey gravels brought down from the Pyrenees, deposited at the end of the Pliocene and the start of the Quaternary. The vines, planted at 7,700 per hectare, are managed plot by plot; part of the soil is ploughed with horses and the harvest is by hand. The wooden vat room, rebuilt in 2007, has 28 vats, one per plot according to age and grape variety. The grand vin spends 18 months in barrels, 70% of them new. The estate's first known harvest dates from 1252.
What to serve it with
- Château Pape Clément: rib of beef (wine with beef), lamb (wine with lamb), game for the old vintages (wine with game).
- Clémentin: duck breast (wine with duck), roast poultry (wine with poultry).
- With cheese: hard cheeses (wine with cheese).
Which vintage for which occasion
A story to tell at the table: a pope's vineyard, eight centuries later. For a wedding, Clémentin on the tables and the grand vin at the top table (which Bordeaux for a wedding). For a birthday, the year of birth, if the table has it (birth-year vintage).
Is Pape Clément a classified growth?
Yes, a Graves classified growth for its red (1953 classification, revised in 1959). Clémentin, its second wine, is not classified.
What's the difference between Pape Clément and Clémentin?
Same estate, same cellars. The grand vin comes from the best plots and keeps for twenty-five years; Clémentin is drunk earlier and costs about a third as much.
When should you drink a Pape Clément?
Allow eight years before opening it and twenty-five years of good form, a little more in a great year, a little less in a weak year or in half bottle; for Clémentin, three to twelve years. The table applies this rule to each line; it isn't a tasting note, and a badly stored bottle ages faster.
Are the prices shown the prices on the quote?
They are the indicative prices from the price list, incl. VAT, per bottle of the format, excluding delivery. The quote confirms the price, the availability of each vintage and the shipping; the delivery grid gives lead times. For a vintage not in the table, the quote request is still open.