Pape Clement Half (Ex Chateau) 1986

The 1986 Pape Clément is a vintage that I had never tasted previously and came in a half-bottle. Upon first opening, the aromatics display a bit of funk, but it improves over the course of an hour, gaining more clarity and freshness, offering attractive scents of mulberry, roasted chestnut, Cuban cigars and damp autumn leaves. The palate is not complex, and yet it is balanced. Slightly rustic compared to its peers in the Médoc, it has ample weight, and though it’s rough around the edges, it wears its heart on its sleeve. Decayed red fruit, quite savoury with maybe a touch of brettanomyces, this Pessac-Léognan is still trotting along nicely. That said, I would not leave it too much longer before broaching. - Neil Martin - The 1986 Pape Clément is a vintage that I had never tasted previously and came in a half-bottle. Upon first opening, the aromatics display a bit of funk, but it improves over the course of an hour, gaining more clarity and freshness, offering attractive scents of mulberry, roasted chestnut, Cuban cigars and damp autumn leaves. The palate is not complex, and yet it is balanced. Slightly rustic compared to its peers in the Médoc, it has ample weight, and though it’s rough around the edges, it wears its heart on its sleeve. Decayed red fruit, quite savoury with maybe a touch of brettanomyces, this Pessac-Léognan is still trotting along nicely. That said, I would not leave it too much longer before broaching.