Many people know of my love for the sweet wines. I had a great
opportunity recently to host a Chateau Climens vertical tasting for
one of my wine groups. This tasting occurred on 8-21-99 and the wines
were tasted (not blind) in the order presented below. Luckily enough
was left over from the tasting that I sampled through them again 8
hours later to see how they had changed.
My scoring system doesn’t use points but rather a letter grade. FWIW
most of my scores for past tastings (of any wine, not just Sauterns)
are in the B/B+ range. Oftentimes there’s a C, rarely if ever a D (if
they are below C often I just give them an F) and a few As here and
there.
- 1990 Ch. Climens
HONEY!, tropical fruits, apricots in the nose
really rich body, honey, bracing but balanced acidity, huge
finish, tangerines, tropical fruits, caramel
Score: A++
8 hours later:
honey, apricots, petrol/kerosene in nose (in a good way)
rich, lush, mouth coating, tangerines, oily, bracing acid,
backwards
Score: A+
2. 1989 Ch. Climens
subdued nose, light honey in nose
full-med body, med-high acid, floral, tangerines, long finish
Score: A-
8 hours later:
very light nose, floral, petrol, tangerine in nose
full-med body, med-high acid, tangerines, more delicate than
1990, peaches
Score: A-
- 1988 Ch. Climens
floral nose
creamy, full, buttery, good acid, long finish, more delicate
than 1990
Score: A
8 hours later:
rich, vanilla, apricot, dark honey, light orange nose
creamy, richer than 1989, less than 1990, tangerines, peaches,
excellent balance, best balance so far, fuzzy navel
Score: A (would be A+ but I don’t like peaches much)
- 1986 Ch. Climens
light cinnamon, light honey in nose
medium body, good acid, light honey, oranges
Score : A
8 hours later:
tangerines, light spice, oily, French oak in nose
apricots, med-body, dried fruit, excellent balance, as good as
1988, honey, hints of dark chocolate
Score: A to A+
- 1975 Ch. Climens
very floral nose
complex, good acid, glycerin, tangerines, med body, ripe,
floral
Score: B+
8 hours later:
light sherry, chocolate mousse, light floral, orange peel in
nose
medium-high acid, oranges, light chocolate, finish is lacking
Score: B+
- 1971 Ch. Climens
floral, tropical, very very light spice, butterscotch nose
lush, good acid, butterscotch, tangerines, tropical
Score: A
8 hours later:
butterscotch, vanilla, very light oak, spice in nose
luch, tangerines, butterscotch, long finish
Score: A
- 1970 Ch. Climens
butterscotch in nose
a bit oxidized?, high acid, butterscotch
poor storage?
Score: not given
8 hours later:
buttered rum, oranges in nose
oranges, lightly oxidized, medium acid, medium body, long
finish, spicy oak, ripe peach
Score: A-
Commentary: The 1990 was just outstanding. Not a typical Climens in
that it was heavier and lusher. Many Climens IME are a bit more
delicate. 1990 was just that type of year. But certainly my style of
dessert wine. Big, rich, mouth coating. The others lived in its shadow
the whole time. That’s not to discount any of the other vintages but
rather to really point out how the 1990 differed from the field, and
perhaps more importantly, how it wowed my palate and may have
influenced any notes afterwards. (although all my scores were high so
I don’t believe the other wines suffered unfairly) Some of the others
showed more complexity and a wider range of flavors but I assume the
1990 will do that as it matures.
The 1988 and 1989 were very close and I gave the nod to the 1988 since
it was fuller/lusher. The 1988 isn’t up to the 1990 but was the
closest in the field with the 1986 in hot pursuit. The 1986 was the
first showing some interesting, complex, features like cinnamon and
chocolate.
Unfortunately I was unable the find the 1976 to put next to the
1975. sigh Next time if I’m lucky. The 1975 was amazingly complex. A
subtle wine and one that really made me think. I gave it a B+ because
the finish wasn’t as nice as the rest of the wine. The nose and
mid-palate really were impressive but it didn’t deliver in the end.
The 1971 was a suprise in that I didn’t expect much from that
vintage. But it showed marvelous flavors and complexity. The
butterscotch, oak, vanilla, spice combination was quite an
experience. Thanks to Tom Hill for providing this bottle.
The 1970 was disappointing but luckily really came through 8 hours
later. Many tasters picked up on the oxidized flavor early on. If I
wasn’t able to try this bottle later I would have been really
disappointed. But it was a wonderful drink later in the evening and
the oxidized flavors really faded leaving some nice character. I would
certainly like to try another bottle and probably will in a few months
to confirm my suspicions that this bottle may have been slightly
mishandled in life but the 1970 Climens, in general, is one great
Sautern with some good life ahead of it. Which makes me happy since
1970 is my birth year and I hope to drink a bottle now and again to
celebrate my birthday.
Wow what a tasting (even if I do say so myself). Practically heaven for
a dessert freak like me. I would have liked to include a 1983 and 1976
to really round the whole thing out but alas I was unable to find
those bottles. I’m still looking BTW in case anyone knows where they
can be found at decent prices.
I am not certain about longevity. I feel they all have a good life
ahead of them. Certainly the 1970 and 1971 will not be at their peak
at the same time as the 1980s vintages. But since I haven’t been able
to follow any vintage from release to some maturity I feel
uncomfortable giving any advice on # of years. I think all are great
wines, all will age a bit more but the 1971 and maybe the 1970 are
nearing peak. 1975 is beautiful and can be drunk or held. The
vintages from the 1980s are a bit young.
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). But I need to be careful of my finances as well.