2012 Climens
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Tasting notes
The 2012 Climens was tasted from two bottles, the first weirdly green. The second was an absolute joy. Well-defined on the nose, it offers lovely beeswax, honeysuckle, jasmine and yellow flowers. The palate is very pure with fine weight, quite tangy, lightly spiced with a pretty marmalade-tinged finish. A very commendable Sauternes in context of the season, but not a top-tier Climens. Tasted blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
Tasted blind. Energetic and a bit of a burnt note. (JR)
Pale lemon-gold colored, the 2012 Climens has a slightly evolved nose sporting honeyed nut and toast notes with a core of lemon pie, fresh hay and allspice. Big, rich and powerful in the mouth, with maturing citrus and stone fruit notions, it has a provocatively spicy finish.
RS 116.9 g/l. Very late harvest in second half of October. Straightforward, relatively simple nose. Bright fruit. Just an edge of something other than fruit or botrytis. Edge of burnt. Still very chewy. (JR)
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.