2000 Climens

Bright gold. Sweet and rich and spicy. Long. Thick, very dense and incredibly persistent. A great effort spoilt only slightly by the Bories’ confession that they drink sweet white bordeaux only two or three times a year! (JR)

TA 3.6 g/l (sulphuric), RS 103.4 g/l.   Harvest cut short by rain so yields were tiny (4 hl/ha).   Mid gold. Rich, lightly spicy candied pineapple and melon. Intensely fruited on the nose and on the palate. Currently less complex than the 2001. Very sweet-tasting without the refreshing bitterness and zest to complement it but there's still the fruit acidity to finish fresh.(JH)

The proprietors are extremely happy with what they were able to produce in 2000. Even though this vintage has a poor reputation, producers who only included the early-picked grapes in their final blends have often turned out nearly exceptional wines. Yields for the 2000 Climens were microscopic (four hectoliters per hectare) and the wine, although somewhat monolithic (I tasted it right after bottling), exhibits honeyed citrus, pineapple, and hints of pears, butter, and honeysuckle. Medium-bodied and elegant, with superb purity (a hallmark of this great estate), it should be at its finest between 2007-2020.