Château Clément-Pichon: Tasting & Drinking
There is no denying the style of Château Clément-Pichon has tended to be supple, soft and approachable; this is partly the terroir speaking of course, and this is the style the proprietors are aiming for. Very sensibly, they have chosen to embrace their terroir in this fashion. Tasting the wines against their peers, in annual cru bourgeois tastings, they often show well, with confident texture, good substance and a handsome layer of fruit.
So, up until the 2017 vintage at least, these are supple and plump wines largely defined by their fruit rather than by their structure. Having said that, in very favourable vintages such as 2009 and 2010 the wines do display a greater degree of backbone and tannic frame which to my palate lends an extra layer of interest. Their appeal really lies in providing affordable and approachable drinking; they seem to promise to drink well at an early age. I suspect they would make an excellent choice for a restaurateur looking to stock up on a wine which offers some of the fruit character and substance we classically associate with the wines of Bordeaux, but which doesn’t require twenty years to come around in the cellar. And, of course, they can be bought at a good price, another rare feature in the region these days.
As yet it remains to be seen what effect the purchase of the Aney vines will have on style, but it seems likely that from the 2018 vintage onwards we can expect to see a little Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. (7/1/16, updated 17/618)
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