Château Pape Clément

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1961 bottle of Château Pape Clément.
1961 bottle of Château Pape Clément.

Château Pape Clément is a Bordeaux wine from the Pessac-Léognan appellation, ranked among the Premiers Crus for red wine in the Classification of Graves wine of 1959. It is the oldest wine estate in Bordeaux, harvesting its 700th vintage in 2006.[1]. The winery and vineyards are located in the commune of Pessac, south-west of the city of Bordeaux. When the estate was omitted from the initial Graves classification of 1953 it caused some controversy.[2]

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[edit] History

Planted in 1300, the estate is the oldest planted vineyard in the region, when it was presented to Bertrand de Goth upon his appointment as archbishop of Bordeaux, by his brother,[3] Berald.[4] It received its name from Bertrand's papal name, Clement V; on his election in 1306 he gave the estate to his successor as archbishop, Cardinal Arnaud de Canteloup.[2] Bertrand, who would later move the papacy to Avignon near Châteauneuf-du-Pape, planted this original vineyard with red wine grapes. White wine grapes were planted across the river near the town of Lormont.[5] The vineyard remained in the possession of archbishops of Bordeaux until the Revolution, when it was nationalised and sold as a bien national.[6]

[edit] Production

The vineyard area consists of 32.5 hectares, 30 of which are planted with grape varieties of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot. The remaining plots are cultivated with white varieties of 45% Sauvignon blanc, 45% Sémillon and 10% Muscadelle.[6]

The Grand vin, Chateau Pape Clément, is produced annually in 7,000 cases of red wine and 350 cases of dry white wine. Additionally there are produced second wines Le Clémentin du Pape Clément and Le Prélat du Pape Clément.[6] The introduction of a second wine in the 1980s, was widely credited with allowing the estate to increase their focus on the quality of their Grand vin, by being more selective in which grapes were used. Today the Grand vin is typically composed of two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot making up the remaining third. The wine is aged in oak barrels (almost half being new oak) for a minimum of fourteen months. The non-cru classé white wine will typically be composed of equal amounts of Sauvignon blanc and Sémillon, depending on the vintage.[7]

The estate currently employs the flying winemaker Michel Rolland as a consultant.[8]

[edit] References

  1. ^ T. Lover "You Don't Look a Day Over 699" The Gothamist, June 5th 2006
  2. ^ a b Lichine, Alexis (1967). Alexis Lichine's Encyclopedia of Wines and Spirits. London: Cassell & Company Ltd., p.395. 
  3. ^ Peppercorn, David (2003). Bordeaux. London: Mitchell Beazley, p.343-345. ISBN 1-84000-927-6. 
  4. ^ J. H. Denton, "Pope Clement V's Early Career as a Royal Clerk" The English Historical Review 83 No. 327 (April 1968:303-314) pp308ff.
  5. ^ H. Johnson Vintage: The Story of Wine pg 146-147 Simon and Schuster 1989 ISBN 0671687026
  6. ^ a b c Kissack, Chris, thewinedoctor.com. Chateau Pape-Clément.
  7. ^ T. Stevenson The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia pg 103-104 Dorling Kindersley 2005 ISBN 0756613248
  8. ^ J. Suckling "Consulting enologist Michel Rolland makes some of the world's best red wines" Wine Spectator, June 30, 2006

[edit] External links

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