Chateau Climens Premier Cru Classe, Barsac

From 0.375 bottle. Deep golden color. Layered and pretty complex, with notes of saffran, citrus, quince, musk, some minerality, sweet spices and caramel. Medium-full bodied, with medium acidity and pretty long finish. Good length. Excellent Climens.

1988 vintage

Christmas Wimps 2025 - Teddy Ruxpin (La Trompette) : Half. So spicy! Lots of botrytis here, and lots of delicious citrus peel. So easy to enjoy. What a great wine.

1988 vintage

Christmas Wimps ‘The Mrs Merton Show’ (La Trompette, London) : Two halves from the same case. 1) pale gold. Fab condition. Lightly saffron botrytison the nose. Light, fresh and elegant, richness balance by acidity. Supreme balance. ****1/2

1988 vintage

Christmas Wimps ‘The Mrs Merton Show’ (La Trompette, London) : Two halves from the same case. 2) full to deep gold. Flatter nose, less energy. Dull saffron. Attractive enough in its own right, but palesby comparison. ***1/2

1988 vintage

Golden color. Just a shade below Rieussec and Lafaurie in quality. Drink or hold. Ric

1988 vintage

Thanksgiving 2025 (Moraga) : My best bottle of this wine yet. So much depth and character, full of flattering notes on the nose and palate, but utterly in balance.

1988 vintage

Medium-dark golden yellow in color. Full, forward & attractive nose of ripe fruit aromas of yellow peaches, apricots lemon rind & tropical notes of pineapple & mango with overtones of floral notes of honeysuckle, honey, toffee, burnt caramel, baking spices, minerals & a slight hint of vanilla bean. Medium-full bodied with a very good concentration of well balanced & smooth textured, lush, ripe sweet fruit flavors of yellow peaches, dried apricots, pineapple & oranges with honey, spices, toffee, minerals & …

1988 vintage

Brilliant for a 37 year old Sauternes in half bottle .

1988 vintage

Informal food pairing event. There was a handful of bottles that I did not try. 2017 Pavie [95] 2005 Monbousquet [93] 2005 Langoa Barton [93] 1994 Cantenac Brown [90] 2000 Gruaud Larose [93] 1988 Climens [95] The bonus bottle - candied orange rind - and the wine of the night.

1988 vintage

Tuesday dinner with friends (Cornus) : A generous extra bottle. Deep gold colour. Some discussion about how this vintage has managed to stay comparatively youthful - certainly, no bitterness in the finish. There's peaches here, someone mentioned nougat and I got that for sure. Lovely.

1988 vintage

Some Classy Wines at Cornus (Cornus, London) : A lovely wine to draw proceedings to close; the nose is serious with charred pineapple, mango peeling greenness / topicality. Some hints of Mintoe and elderflower cordial. Palate has passion fruit and rose petal on entry some honied nougat on the mid palate and a savoury chamomile pastille on the finish. Not a super sweet stickie and all the better for that. Coming back to this after a few minutes there is …

1988 vintage

A burnished copper in colour, fully mature, butterscotch, oranges, some ginger, the botrytis isn’t overdone, a real freshness on the finish which counteracts the sweetness superbly.

1988 vintage

All-sauternes dinner (R&G Lounge, San Francisco) : Cork removed with the Durand. The color is exceptional barely darker than the 1975 Rieussec. Burnished copper; high intensity aromatics, wow smoky which is something I've never found in sauternes before, orange marmalade, a bit of tarte tatin or a brulee'd dessert; richly textured, fantastic elegance throughout, balanced alcohol, medium-plus acidity, sweetness is barely present at this age; persistent finish. A unique sauternes among the many that I have tasted, and all about …

1949 vintage

All-Sauternes Dinner (R&G Lounge) : Mint and dried almonds, with a sharp mineral (brine?) smokiness on the nose. The last time I smelled something like this, it was over a glass of Port Ellen in Islay. Really compelling & unique palate. Starts dry and savory, with prominent morel mushroom and ultra-dried orange peel, but the sweetness makes a grand entrance as the wine reaches the back palate, then builds as it drives through the triumphant finish. Wow.

1949 vintage

Gold. Aromas of apricot jam, candied orange, saffron, caramel, acacia honey and ocean brine. Sweet, viscous and powerful structure. Orangey acids and gingery bitterness. Palate of candied ginger, roasted almond, crème caramel and candied almonds. A sweet, gorgeous and fully mature sauternes with candied fruit, lively and yet razor-sharp acidity and a very long and complex nutty and candied finish. Drink within 5-10 years.

1988 vintage

This was a good one. Best on day 1.

1988 vintage

Really fabulous and in a great place now with just the right touch of sweetness. The palate is filled with flavors of crushed white stones and peach with an excellent acidic cut and such a complex finish with notes of white flowers, chalky minerals and a touch of caramel. The '88 Yquem drunk alongside was more voluminous but I kept coming back to this glass more often.

1988 vintage

Burnished colour, old gold; sumptuous nose, classic, some botrytis remains; fulsome, weighty but well proportioned, sufficient acidity; powerful finish. At its peak. Will hold.

1988 vintage

Absolutely stunning wine. Probably the best bottle of this we've had. Balanced acidity, beautiful yellow/tropical fruits, excellent length. Amazing.

1988 vintage

Classic Climens. Apricot, baked apple pie, tremendous acidity pulls all together. Balanced. Baking spices emerge on palate and fulsome finish.

1988 vintage

Properly cellared since release, this is a great Sauternes. The only question is how long to age my last bottle. At my age 75, I should probably hope to live long enough to drink it on its 50th birthday in 2038, and I suspect it will continue to amaze after that time.

1988 vintage

Truly gorgeous bottle. From 750ml. Certainly ready but this should hold for years. Enjoyed at Eulalie in TriBeCa.

1988 vintage

Opened for my birthday, but not quite as good a bottle as most. Enjoyed it over 3 days.

1988 vintage

the first sniff. wow. crazy floral, still very primary driven. ripe apricots, peaches, lots of orange flowers. paired perfectly with the cheese plate and apricot jam. still lively acidity, still plenty of time ahead. feel lucky about the conditions of both of the bottles, still in perfect condition. more orange marmalade on the palate, intense orange flowers. very fine indeed. lots of UHU glue at first (botrytis). but went away fairly quickly in 10 or so minutes to show the …

1988 vintage

Candied bitter oranges, apricots, and gentle botrytis on the nose. Really nice freshness. The palate had great acidity with classic Climens steeliness leading into a honeyed, citrusy long finish. This was really pleasant but perhaps not the most complex bottle of Climens I've ever had.

1988 vintage

I usually have (slightly) preferred the brighter 83 and 86 Climens to the 88-90 trio, but not on this night. This was ridiculously good, rich yet balanced, dense yet elegant, clean yet complex, with both fresher elements (apricots, lemon, ginger, saffron) and richer more baked flavors of toffee, vanilla, crème brulee, and honey. Great brightness to carry all of sweetness, seamless and oh so long. 95+ pts.

1988 vintage

Boston Wine & Poker, Lincoln, Mass.: Tasted blind. Super-intense apricot. Slightly syrupy texture, but gorgeous balance. Mature but with no sign of old age.

1988 vintage

Amber color; mahogany nose indicates oxidation yet very smooth and sweet, pure. The palate is regal & smooth, elegant, lovely harmony but also a touch woody and quiet. Very enjoyable.

1949 vintage

2015 Villa d’Este Wine Symposium - Kelly and Kevin's excellent adventure; 11/3/2015-11/9/2015 (Villa D’este, Lake Como) : Served blind by Ivanhoe Johnston whose family owned Nath Johnston & Sons since 1734. Very mineral and clean tells me a Barsac and seems pretty old but quite well cellared so my guess is Climens. I am guessing may be the 20s so I am off by a couple decades. Very tertiary nose displaying only a hint of yellow fruits, fresh apricot, a …

1949 vintage

Honey colored, with a bouquet of burnt caramel, apricot, nuts, flowers, honey, orange and tropical fruits. Rich, intense, clean and lively, the wine tasted decades younger than its true age, ending with a sweet, vanilla, nut and honey coated, tropical fruit finish.

1949 vintage

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Chateau Climens Premier Cru Classe, Barsac

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