Climens - Barsac 2016

Wine Advocate

94-94

byNeal Martinthe9/20/2022

The 2016 Climens has a wonderful bouquet similar to my last bottle, more expressive now with orange pith, wild honey and quince. Like before it opens wonderfully in the glass. The palate is very well balanced with fine definition, fresh and vibrant with a creamy honeyed texture, praline and apricot, on the seductive finish. Superb. Tasted at the Climens vertical at the château in April 2022.

Vinous

95

byNeal Martinthe8/13/2020

The 2016 Climens has a tightly wound bouquet, perhaps a little more mineral-driven than its peers, featuring detailed orange pith, honey and marmalade aromas that gain intensity with aeration. The palate is very well balanced with a viscous, honeyed opening. This is a touch richer and creamier than its peers, but it is not cloying and delivers a lovely crème brûlée and toffee apple finish that lingers. Superb. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

Jancis Robinson

17,5

byJancis Robinsonthe2/5/2020

Wine Advocate

96

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe3/29/2019

Pale lemon-gold colored, the 2016 Climens is a little youthfully mute, revealing notions of ripe peaches, mango and musk melon with touches of cedar chest, orange blossoms, candied ginger and baking bread. Bursting in the mouth with vibrant, energetic stone fruit and tropical layers, it is framed by fantastic freshness, finishing long and creamy.

Wine Spectator

93

byJames Molesworththe2/5/2019

Expressive, with peach, mirabelle plum, mango and pear fruit flavors running along in unison, lacing with light bitter almond and orange notes and a flash of honeysuckle. Best from 2022 through 2038.   –JM

Wine Advocate

96

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe11/30/2018

Pale lemon colored, the 2016 Climens has a super intense nose of lemon marmalade, candied orange peel, crystallized ginger and lime tart with touches of musk perfume and fungi. The palate is wonderfully intense and refreshing with loads of layers and an epic finish.

Wine Advocate

95-97

byNeal Martinthe5/2/2017

The 2016 Climens was tasted from the 12 different lots that will go into the Grand Vin, with some selected from the Deuxième Vin, Cyprès de Climens. As usual, I had to assemble them in my mind and relate commonalities, though at a négoçiant a week later I re-tasted four preprepared micro-blends. I found much elegance this year. It is not a powerful Climens in the making and even with the higher alcohol lots that reached 14.9%, you could not feel any warmth and the wines maintained the tension. Some lots displayed saline finishes, perhaps a little more than usual. Perhaps the most important factor was just how "Barsac" they all tasted. Sometimes some lots can taste more Sauternes-like in style, but not this year.

Jean-Marc QUARIN

17

byJean-Marc Quarinthe4/28/2017

Couleur jaune vert. Nez intense, fruité et fin. Superbe entrée en bouche ample où le vin se développe sur un exceptionnel soyeux, avec beaucoup de goût, vers une finale longue et complexe. C’est délicieux.

Vinous

93-96

byAntonio Gallonithe4/26/2017

I tasted the 2016 Climens from four separate lots identified by location, harvest dates, alcohol, residual sugar and the percentage each lot represents of the harvest. The four wines were remarkably different. The Nord was both plush and tropical-leaning, yet with notable freshness, while the Sud managed to be both deep and also light on its feet. I found the Ouest to be the most precise and aromatically lifted of the samples, while the Est was the most concentrated. A simple, impromptu blend of the four lots suggests the 2016 Climens is shaping up to be a magnificent Barsac. The interplay of the various components is quite remarkable.

matthewjukes.com

19

byMatthew Jukesthe4/25/2017

I tasted the four components of Climens – but stopped short of making up my own blend! On the basis of the four parts below I have awarded a score. Please bear in mind that this is not a finished, blended wine. North – (16% of harvest) stone fruit, focussed with power and some bitterness, too. South – (43% of harvest) with tension and bold acidity, this is a stunning part with drama and power. East – (14% of harvest) pretty and quite shy and dry, this is a more reserved portion with some finesse and restraint. West – (27% of harvest) exotic, honeyed, flamboyant and sexy, this is a very flirtatious element with some power beneath its exotic appeal 19++

Jancis Robinson

18

byJancis Robinsonthe4/21/2017

Climens is usually blended over a prolonged period of at least a year with various lots assembled painstakingly along the way. Until 2017 this has meant that tasters have to visit the chai and schedule a good hour for the barrel-by-barrel process (see What may go into Climens 2015). This year Mathieu Chadronnier of CVBG persuaded Bérénice Lurton of Climens to provide samples of the four main ingredients in Climens 2016 for their tasting at Ch Belgrave in the Médoc, thereby putting it on the itinerary for far more tasters. A much-appreciated initiative.Sample from northern parcels (picked 30 Sep and 18 Oct, 14.1% alcohol, RS 120 g/l, 16% of the crop):Liquorice and rich and round and exciting. Thick and round. Sample from the eastern parcels (picked 29 Sep and 3, 4 Oct, 14.2% alcohol, RS 131 g/l, 27% of the crop): Toasty, deep and edgy with a green streak. From the western parcels (picked 28 Sep, 4, 8 Oct, 14.4% alcohol, RS 129 g/l, 14% of the crop): A bit loose and sweet with bracing acid. Big and bold, with a firm end. From the southern plots (picked 6, 19, 20, 22 Oct, 14.2% alcohol, RS 141 g/l, 43% of the crop): Friendly, round, fresh and floral, gorgeous. Bright fruit. Drink 2026-204818+