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Chateau Climens 1966-1983
Tom's House, Palo Alto
Tasted July 23, 2015 by aagrawal with 816 views
Flight 1 - Pre-wines (4 notes)
All tasted blind. These were all drinkable, nothing wrong with them, but none of them struck me as wines to search out.
White
2013 Wente Vineyards Chardonnay Single Vineyard Riva Ranch
85 points
Green-golden color; mineral, slate, a little oak; palate is medium-bodied, decent acidity, fresh; medium finish. Nice, new world, balanced sauvignon blanc? Nope, chardonnay. Not a bad value wine. 85-86
White
2013 Ferrari-Carano Fumé Blanc
84 points
Medium golden color; cat urine, gooseberry; palate has great acidity, fresh, refreshing, vegetal; medium finish. New Zealand sauvignon blanc? Characteristic, interesting, but too vegetal on the palate, and I normally like that. Good value. 84-85
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White
2002 Faiveley Bourgogne Blanc
82 points
Nice, a little caramel, some aged oxidation; palate is dry, full bodied, good acid; short finish. Seems like it has some age. Not bad for the price, but nothing special. 82
White
2002 Kaesler Sémillon Old Vine
84 points
A little sweet but not all that aromatic; palate is pretty bland, full bodied; short finish. Semillon? But not the best aged example of Semillon that I've had. 84
Flight 2 - Chateau Climens (8 notes)
What did I learn? I really appreciate the richer style of Climens as it has more complexity on the nose and palate. If it has a lot of minerality, it has to have botrytis spice otherwise it just tastes like slate. All the wines were good, over half were excellent, but only one or two approached exceptional or stunning. For a Chateau that is widely considered the #2 in the region, I think that's a little disappointing. For this reason, I generally don't think it's the #2 in the region... I would rate Yquem, Fargues, and Rieussec above Climens, and Coutet often provides similar performance for a much lower price.
White - Sweet/Dessert
1971 Château Climens
94 points
Tasted blind. My #2, group's #1. Deep golden-orange, almost caramel, darkest of the lineup; nose is fascinating with burnt toffee, caramel, caramelized sugar, slight oxidation; palate is full bodied, but great acidity, gives it a liveliness on the palate, still fresh and never sweet or overbearing, definitely fully mature but a pleasure to drink now. This has real character. 92-95
White - Sweet/Dessert
1976 Château Climens
91 points
Tasted blind. My #4, group's #5. Golden-orange; Mineral, light nose, slate, salinity; palate still has sweetness, on the lighter minerally side, not much botrytis, but pleasant, nice vibrancy, and maybe even on the younger side, fades a tad by the finish; medium finish. This may be the most food friendly of the wines. This got better at the night went on. 90-92
White - Sweet/Dessert
1980 Château Climens
93 points
Tasted blind. My #3, group's #4. Golden-orange; nice balance with rich orange marmalade, but still minerality and freshness; palate is full bodied, good balance of richness and minerality, medium age, a bit more persistent through the palate; medium-long finish. Very balanced, classic Climens, still young. 92-93
White - Sweet/Dessert
1983 Château Climens
89 points
Tasted blind. My #7, group's #3. Golden-orange; nose is a bit funky at first, blows off with air, has a little apricot, a little minerality; palate is full bodied, a little spice, some botrytis, full bodied, good sweetness, balanced; medium finish. Balanced but the nose holds back the superior palate. 89
White - Sweet/Dessert
1978 Château Climens
95 points
Tasted blind. My #1, Group's #2. A little reticent on the nose at first but it unfurls with some spice, some white fruit; palate is full bodied, excellent density along with freshness, some spicy botrytis; finish is medium-long. This is one of the best palates in the lineup. 93-95
White - Sweet/Dessert
1979 Château Climens
91 points
Tasted blind. My #5, group's #6. Golden-orange; a little spice, apricot, balanced; palate is full bodied, excellent spice, fruit, minerality, persists through the palate; slight chlorine on the medium finish. Very nice. 91-92
White - Sweet/Dessert
1981 Château Climens
87 points
Tasted blind. My #8, group's #8. Golden-orange; excellent nose at first with fantastic spice, complexity, fruit; palate is medium-high acid, medium alcohol, palate isn't nearly as exciting as I would have expected, fruit is hollow and drops out, not much spice; surprisingly short finish. This would have been exceptional if the palate lived up to the nose, but instead it was the most disappointing out of the whole lineup. Everything about it seemed clipped. 87
White - Sweet/Dessert
1966 Château Climens
90 points
Tasted blind. My #6, group's #7. Golden-orange; classic Climens blend of minerality and fruit; palate has too much salinity and minerality compared to not enough fruit though that is there as well, nice flavor; medium-long finish. Nice, though I would like it a little richer with more fruit. Though this was the most expensive of the night, it was middle of the pack based on performance. 90
Flight 3 - Extra (1 note)
Someone had brought a half to share at the end. I got a tiny pour, but it is consistent with my last taste.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2001 Château Nairac
92 points
From a half. Golden-orange; hard to assess with a small pour, apricot, complex; palate is full bodied, great botrytis spice, excellent balanced acidity; finish is medium-long with excellent acidity. 91-92. 92