Château Le Pape: Tasting & Drinking
I have never tasted any vintages from the pre-Wilmers era, and I suspect I never will. The first vintage under the new regime, the vineyard work and winemaking under the direction of Véronique Sanders and Gabriel Vialard, was 2012. Although dominated by Merlot, a reflection of what was in the vineyard, and despite having had little time to make any changes of note, they managed to produce a very striking wine in their first vintage. The 2012 Château Le Pape was one of the most remarkably perfumed wines I have ever encountered, the aromatics brimming with scents of peonies, roses and violets. I tasted it during a visit to the château in October 2015, and I wasn’t surprised to learn that they had essentially sold out, with fewer than a dozen bottles remaining to pour for guests.
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