Pape Clément Pessac-Léognan 2015

99 points James Suckling: "The clarity to this wine is impressive. Wealth of dark-plum and black-fruit essence not to mention orange citrus. Everything is dialed up to the limit here but then dialed in on the palate. Such impressive depth and suave, ripe, fluid tannins that deliver impressive length. Great wine. Such polish. Superb. Try from 2022. (1/22/18)"

98 points (19/20) La Revue du Vin de France: "The proportion of Cabernet in the 2015 red blend reaches 56% 'because of their exceptional quality,' explains Jeanne Lacombe, technical director. Shorter maceration and pigeage extraction have resulted in a wine of great spicy finesse, while preserving the creamy spirit of Pape-Clement. Certainly the best red produced by the estate since the inflection towards a less flashy character. (2018)"

97 points Jeb Dunnuck: "As with the white, the 2015 Château Pape Clément is up at the top of the hierarchy and is a tour de force in Red Bordeaux that should be snatched up by readers. Coming from a 50-hectare parcel of the gravelly soils and harvest between September 25th and October 15th, it’s a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc that saw a long maceration (30-40 days) and 18 months in 80% new French oak. With a deep ruby/plum color and awesome notes of currants, black cherries, truffles, chocolate and graphite, this beauty hits the palate with a massive, full-bodied, opulent, sexy, yet never heavy style. With terrific concentration, perfect balance, and ripe tannin, as well as plenty of oak, give bottles 4-5 years of cellaring and enjoy over the following 2-3 decades. Tasted three times. Drink: 2023-2053. (11/30/17)"

97 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown (The Wine Independent): "Medium to deep garnet colored, the 2015 Pape Clement Rouge is a little closed to start before sashaying out with beautiful notes of black cherries, mulberries, and creme de cassis, plus hints of Chinese five spice and unsmoked cigars. The full-bodied palate delivers concentrated black fruit preserves flavors, with loads of spicy accents and velvety texture, finishing with great length. Drink: 2023-2048. (11/17/22)"

96 points Antonio Galloni (Vinous): "One of the stars of the vintage, the 2015 Pape Clément is fabulous. Dark and beautifully resonant, it captures all the natural radiance of the year in the Pape Clément style. Super-ripe black cherry, plum, mocha, chocolate, new leather and spice effortlessly fill out the wine's ample frame. Soft contours and an open-knit, inviting personality are just two of the reasons the Pape Clément is going to be virtually impossible to resist, even in the early going. The blend is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot. Tasted two times. Drink: 2022-2035. (Feb 2018)"

96 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown (Wine Advocate): "The 2015 Pape Clement is blended of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc, matured in 80% new and 20% one-year-old French oak barrels for 18 months. Medium to deep garnet-purple, it opens with profound notes of crushed red and black currants, black cherries and cassis with touches of mocha, baking spices, menthol and lavender plus a hint of new leather. Medium-bodied, firm and concentrated with tons of tightly wound black fruit and earth layers, it has a grainy frame and refreshing lift on the long finish. Drink: 2022-2042. (Feb 2018)"

95 points Wine Spectator: "Ripe and lush, with flashy anise, apple wood and mocha notes forming the frame and ample cassis, cherry paste and plum sauce flavors at the core for balance. Shows lots of sweet spice details through the finish, with the apple wood edge holding sway for now. A bold, glossy version that will please fans of the style after some time. Best from 2022 through 2035. (3/31/18)"

95 points Neal Martin (Vinous): "The 2015 Pape-Clément has a fragrant bouquet with quite plush, generous but well defined red berry fruit mixed with rose petal and incense, smoke and cigar humidor following later. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannin, crisp and focused. A seam of graphite emerges toward the finish. This is linear and correct at the moment. This should develop into a very fine Pessac-Léognan, one full of breed and sophistication. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting. (Jul 2019)"

95 points/'Cellar Selection,' Wine Enthusiast: "Dense and concentrated, this wine is fully structured and also has great fruit. It is dense, showing the ripeness of both tannins and fruit in this vintage. It will power through its development to be a very fine wine from 2025. Alcohol 14.5%. (Apr 2018)"