Community Tasting Note

Tuesday, January 2, 2024 - I was a bit worried about this wine given all of the Parker references in the other notes, and whereas I'm a big admirer of Robert Parker, I'm quite sure "parkerization" is not meant as a complement to any winemaker or chateau. As it turns out, my concerns were overblown and I was pleasantly surprised by the bottle I pulled out of the case (my first). [The wine was purchased upon release and stored in the owc.]

Big? Yes of course.
Intense black fruit? Yes
Tannic? Yes but not harshly.
Secondary notes? Some
Is it a 100 point wine? Not in my opinion but I'm also not qualified

Overall, my wife and I thought this was a very pleasant bottle of Bordeaux. In my experience, the delicious Pape Clement '05 has not improved with age and I would suspect the '10 will not either. The wine is open for business and will probably mellow for some time before it starts fading. If you own multiple bottles, it might be time to try it out.

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Comment posted by Mark1npt:

1/3/2024 11:36:00 AM - Thanks for the note and honest opinion on this one!

Parkerization....made many in Bdx Billionaires.

Parkerization....made many in Napa hundreds of millions.

I don't have an issue with it, as much as others do. I do have an issue with winemakers chasing his ideal and the end result being that so many wines are all beginning to feel and taste the same now......
Comment posted by novocane:

1/3/2024 6:59:00 PM - 2005 is a big intense tannic vintage, and an outlier. I'd expect the 2010 to age differently.
Comment posted by Mark1npt:

1/3/2024 8:12:00 PM - novocane, I agree with a few exceptions. Most of them are taking longer to come around. The '05 Pontet Canet and Poyferre are quite good......
Comment posted by MariusA:

1/4/2024 8:52:00 AM - novocane - appreciate your comment and love the engagement around the two vintages. And you're right about the '05s - most of them I have not touched for the very reason you mentioned.
I think it's always been tough to know exactly where some wines will end up with time. I've had about 15 bottles or so of the '05 Pape Clement over the last 7-8 years so I know this wine quite well and watched the development. The '10 reminds me of where the '05 was at the same age. And I'm not confident it'll get even better with time. I have 11 bottles left of the '10 so I hope I live long enough to finish them all! :-)