2001 Climens
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
A magical vintage in Barsac, and this is playing right at the top of its game. Lasted tasted by me in 2021, on the launch of this site, and I was lucky enough to get to taste it again this week, and it's even better now than it was then, mastering the see-saw between opulence and tension. Clear spice notes on the opening, fresh ginger and turmeric, with saffron-infused white peaches, chamomile, poached pears, preserved citrus, tarte tartin and slate. 117g/l residual sugar, 6hl/ha yield, harvest 30 September to October 23. 69% of production in this wine (with the rest in Cyprès de Climens, no longer produced).
Critic scores
Average Score
Neal Martin
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
The 2001 Climens has always been one of my favourite vintages of this era. It has a divine bouquet, beautifully defined with quince, saffron, walnut and almond, hints of Satsuma emerging with time. The palate is well balanced with fine acidity, quite tangy with marmalade and quince, saline and spicy with a persistent finish. An awesome Climens with maybe more to offer down the line, hence the plus sign. Tasted at the Climens vertical at the château in April 2022.
The 2001 Climens has a well-defined, complex bouquet of dried honey, peach skin, quince and a light beeswax scent. Tight at first, it only takes a few swirls of the glass to get going. The palate is where the action is: very intense and concentrated with layers of botrytized fruit, lightly spiced with tangy marmalade, quince and nectarine notes, merging into saffron and gingerbread toward the very engaging, persistent finish. This is a magnificent Barsac that is only beginning to show what it is capable of. (NM)
About the producer
Château Climens is one of Sauternes-Barsac’s leading producers of sweet wine. Classified as a Premier Cru or First Growth in 1855 it sits alongside just 10 other Premier Cru estates in Sauternes, only bettered by Ch. d’Yquem, which was granted its own elite classification of Premier Cru Supérieur.