Château Climens Sauternes Barsac 2014 375ml
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1 or more bottles$85.00
Editors notes
There are fleeting senses of dried honey, juniper berries and marigold, dried apricot on a couple of barrels. There is clearly good acidity here, most of the lots spicier than 2013. As usual, this Climens is bestowed a sense of volume and persistence in the mouth and you have the sense that this will be a more approachable Barsac compared to other vintages. Overall, Bérénice Lurton has a winning Climens on her hands, one that will in the top two or three sweet wines of the vintage.
Details
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Wine Type
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Vintage
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Variety
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Brand
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Location
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Cellaring
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Closure
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Alcohol Percentage
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Bottle Size
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Oak Type
Tasting Profile
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Light (Light)Full (Full)
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Low Tannin (Low Tannin)Tannic (Tannic)
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Sweet (Sweet)Dry (Dry)
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Low Acidity (Low Acidity)High Acidity (High Acidity)
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Aroma
- Lemon
- Mineral
- White Flowers
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Palate
- Lemon Zest
- Slate
- Stonefruit
Food Pairings
- Asian
- Fish
- Shellfish
Critic Scores & reviews
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Wine Spectator
97"This delivers wave after wave of piecrust, dried pineapple, warm marmalade, singed almond, glazed peach and apricot flavors, with a hint of brioche. Despite the heft, this has a breezy feel within, thanks to riveting acidity buried deep on the finish. Best from 2020 through 2040."
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Decanter
96"One extremely fine lot after another, all marked by an extremely pure lemony botrytis. Bright and crisp, with lovely sweetness and mindboggling precision. Choosing between the various barrels to make the final blend will be even tougher than usual this year."
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The Wine Advocate
95"There are fleeting senses of dried honey, juniper berries and marigold, dried apricot on a couple of barrels. There is clearly good acidity here, most of the lots spicier than 2013. As usual, this Climens is bestowed a sense of volume and persistence in the mouth and you have the sense that this will be a more approachable Barsac compared to other vintages. Overall, Bérénice Lurton has a winning Climens on her hands, one that will in the top two or three sweet wines of the vintage."
Other vintages
Love this wine? Here's a list of other vintages we have in stock if you'd like to try them as well.
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- Variety Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon
- Vintage 2016
- Brand Chateau Climens
- Cellaring 5-10 Years
- Wine Type Dessert
- Alcohol Percentage 12.0% Alcohol
Chateau Climens Sauternes Barsac 2016-
Wine Spectator93 points
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Decanter94 points
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The Wine Advoca96 points
$150.00
Current auction
All current auctions for this wine & any different vintages.
Locations
France
Wine is being produced throughout France and has been done for over 2,500 years with certain Châteaux dating their history back to Roman times, around 6th Century BC. Ranking second in the world in per-capita consumption and first in total production quantity. More so than the overall quantity of wine is the quantity of truly great wines coming out of France makes the nation the envy of wine-making nations worldwide.
Two concepts pivotal to the higher end French wines, in particular, are the idea of 'terroir' and the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) system. Terroir refers to the way the geography, geology and climate find their way into the glass, telling a story of the origin of the wine. The AOC was set up in 1935 and has the primary goal of protecting the authenticity of the wines and the livelihoods of the producers. Appellation rules strictly define which varieties of grapes and winemaking practices are approved for classification in each of France's several hundred geographically defined appellations, which can cover entire regions, individual villages or in some cases, like in Burgundy even specific vineyards.
Classic wine regions in France include Champagne (home of Champagne), Burgundy (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay), Bordeaux (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot), Alsace (Aromatic varietals), Loire Valley (Chenin Blanc, Crémant) and the Rhône Valley (Syrah, Grenache Mourvedre)
The Bordeaux classification of 1855 is still in use, as is the Sauternes and Barsac Classification of the same year. Wines from certain regions can be bought En Primeur, which is when the wine is sold prior to it being bottled.
Bordeaux
Bordeaux has a rich history of winemaking, dating back to the Roman times. Today, it is known as one of the most significant wine regions in the world, with a reputation for producing complex, full-bodied red wines. The region is home to a diverse range of terroirs, each with its own unique microclimate, soil composition, and grape varieties.
The left bank of Bordeaux is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, which thrives in the region's gravelly soils. These wines tend to be bold, tannic, and complex, with notes of blackcurrant, cedar, and tobacco. On the right bank, Merlot is king, producing wines that are softer and fruitier, with notes of plum, cherry, and chocolate.
Aside from the red blends, Bordeaux is also renowned for its sweet wines, particularly from the Sauternes and Barsac appellations. These wines are made using a unique process that involves botrytis, or "noble rot," which concentrates the sugars in the grapes, resulting in a lusciously sweet and complex wine.
Bordeaux's classification system has evolved over time, with some estates moving up or down the ranks depending on the quality of their wines. Today, the system includes five growths, with Premier Cru being the highest and Deuxièmes Crus being the second-highest. There is also a separate classification for the sweet wines of Sauternes and Barsac, with Chateau d’Yquem holding the highest rank.
Overall, Bordeaux is a region that continues to captivate wine enthusiasts around the world with its rich history, diverse terroirs, and exceptional wines.
Sauternes
Home of the greatest dessert wines in the world. 65km south of Bordeaux city lies Sauternes, the most revered sweet wine region in the world. The entire appellation has just over 2000 hectares of vineyards, divided into five communes - of these five, Barsac is the only one with a label of its own.
The region is noteworthy thanks to its unique microclimate. The heavy evening mists often persist long into the morning, allowing the Botrytis cinerea fungus (the trademark of Sauternes, often called noble rot) to take hold of the grapes, and the warm midday sun dries the fruit out and prevents the fungus from progressing and ruining the crop.
Noble rot reduces the water content of each grape and concentrates their naturally occurring sugars, creating an incredibly sweet, intense juice for winemaking. Because of the delicate balance of meteorological conditions required for successful noble rot, entire vintages often fail. However, a good vintage, aged appropriately, cannot be beaten by any other sweet wine in the world.
About the brand Chateau Climens
Château Climens is a Premier Cru Classé (‘first growth’) producer of Sauternes sweet white wines in the Barsac appellation in the district of Graves in the wine region of Bordeaux, France. The château is famous for the elegance and depth of its wines. In 2010, the entire vineyard became biodynamic, making the estate the only Premier Cru Classé in Bordeaux to be certified biodynamic.