An amazing nose of sweet tobacco, orange peel, cigar box and exotic fruit. Lots of tar too. Full-bodied, with exotic and spicy flavors that are slightly decadent and funky, but wild and wonderful, from leather to dried fruits. Just a baby, too. Give this more age.--'88/'98 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2008). James Suckling

A prodigious effort from Pape Clement, this wine is smokin'! It boasts a dense ruby/purple color in addition to a terrific nose of charcoal, blackberries, cassis, tobacco, minerals, and spice. This brilliantly-focused, medium to full-bodied 1998 already reveals a boatload of complexity as well as a remarkably long finish. A large-sized effort for this estate, it exhibits a sweet mid-palate and ripe tannin. Anticipated maturity: 2003-2025. Bravo!

The 1998 Pape Clément put in a very fine showing, perhaps better than I expected. I had not tasted this for some 12 years. With an open and quite generous bouquet, this is well-defined and fresh with black fruit laced with humidor and damp loamy scents - much more classic in style than expected. The palate is well-balanced with finely-tuned tannins, again, fresh and well-balanced with ample weight of blackberry, raspberry, tar and black olive compote towards the finish. Very fine. Poured from magnum at a private dinner in Puligny-Montrachet. Jan 2023

Good red-ruby. Highly aromatic nose combines plum, tobacco, tar, leather and game. Dense, rich and stuffed with flavor; shows a compelling subtle sweetness and a meaty component from the superripe merlot. But here, too, there no shortage of verve. Finishes with excellent length and sweet, ripe tannins. Very satisfying Graves.

The first vintage of Pape Clement with the stamp of Bernard Magrez is probably drinking at close to its peak today, with a tobacco, cherry, earth, smoke and truffle nose. The wine starts soft on the palate, but there is a dusty, rough note in the finish that is a little harsh. Still, the spicy, dark fruits and cocoa in the end are quite nice. There is probably no real hurry to drink this wine, but I am not sure it needs more age. Feb 2014