Daniel M

9.2

We are celebrating my daughter's entering teenage years (tomorrow) and this Château Pape Clément 2012 is a year older than she is. I bought 2 bottles of it at a foire aux vins in 2014 back in Paris, have kept it since then, it went through a bunch of moves, including one from Paris to Warsaw and it came back in the trunk of our car this summer for the occasion. The carbon imprint of this (very heavy, on top of it) bottle is not great...
It was served along 2 massive beef tomahawk steaks cooked to medium-rare perfection by my dad.
Cassis, tar, tobacco, cedar, oak, a touch of red bell pepper which turned into menthol and black pepper as the wine warmed up in the glass (I had it chilled to 16°c and opened to shoulders).
The palate is full bodied, broad, layered, with cassis, black cherry, tar and oaky notes all along. It rolls on the tongue. The mouthfeel is soft and delicate but mutes into a grainy, gravely tannic wall that disrupts the finish and creates an additional layer of complexity. The finish is long, complex, evolving a tiny bitter note in the very end. The vintage is what it is and it can be felt in the way the wine is broad without being the broadest and in the mouthfeel which is a bit soft and lacking a tad of thickness. It's nevertheless a great wine which went super well with the steak. Happy Birthday Amelia! — a day ago

romo

9.3

1er nose and attack. A satisfying broad mouth-coating acid bomb. - at Laurelhurst — 23 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.7

Stunning. A total textural bomb, still very young but surprisingly accessible and open, which is the nature of 2020. Complex dark berry fruit, the sweetest, most velvety tannins, and that granitic edge only elite Hermitage gets. Powerful, deep and gorgeous. — 2 months ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.3

At dinner at Le Cabotte. Entering a gorgeous drinking window. The nose is classic Chinon, loaded with red currant, crushed herbs, mineral dust, and hints of cassis. Beautiful Cabernet Franc herbaceousness, not green or vegetal, but alive. Red currants, crushed herbs, a little tobacco leaf, iron, stone, and that unmistakable Loire freshness. The fruit has enough generosity from the vintage to give a subtle fleshiness underneath the structure. The palate is all tension and energy. Incredible freshness, mouthwatering acidity, and a long mineral spine carry the wine across the palate. Unlike Baudry’s larger, more powerful bottlings, this is about movement. The fruit feels suspended in the acidity, and every sip seems to pull the next sip forward. After forty minutes of air, the wine became even more expressive. The red currant and herbaceous notes moved to the forefront, joined by gorgeous minerality and tremendous freshness. It is not thick or heavy like Cabernet Sauvignon, nor does it possess the density of Baudry’s biggest cuvées. Instead, it is all acid, tension, energy, and precision. Juicy, vibrant, and effortlessly drinkable, with the kind of electric persistence that makes great Cabernet Franc impossible to put down. — 2 months ago

Billy L.

9.5

Stunning Wine! Kudos to Loic Dugat & Family! Fabulous Cheers 🍇🍷👍🏻👏🏻 — 4 months ago

Mike Evans

9.4

Tropical but with lovely weight and depth. — 5 months ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.1

Clos des Lunes "Lune d'Argent" 2024. Bordeaux Blanc – Bordeaux, France 🇫🇷

Overview
A classic Bordeaux Blanc crafted from 70% Sémillon and 30% Sauvignon Blanc, produced by Clos des Lunes, the white wine estate of the Bernard family (SC Domaine de Chevalier) in one of Bordeaux's finest white wine terroirs. While still in its youth, the 2024 vintage already reveals exceptional balance, precision, and elegance. Its beautifully integrated texture hints at an even brighter future with a few years of bottle age.

Aromas & Flavors
Expressive aromas of white peach, ripe citrus, honeysuckle, lemon blossom, and fresh herbs unfold alongside subtle notes of wet stone and flint. The palate is layered yet remarkably refined, where the richness of Sémillon meets the freshness and lift of Sauvignon Blanc.

Mouthfeel
Medium-bodied with a silky, almost creamy texture balanced by vibrant acidity. Despite its youthful structure, the edges are already remarkably soft, leading to a long, mineral-driven finish that lingers with freshness rather than weight.

Food Pairings
A natural companion for oysters, scallops, lobster, grilled prawns, sea bass, Dover sole, or creamy goat cheese. Its precision and elegance make it an outstanding seafood wine.

Verdict
Another outstanding vintage that continues the remarkable consistency of Clos des Lunes. The 2024 is tighter than the 2023 but noticeably more polished, combining youthful energy with impressive finesse. Delicious today, yet clearly built to reward three to six years of cellaring.

Did You Know?
Clos des Lunes is owned by the Bernard family, also proprietors of the prestigious Domaine de Chevalier in Pessac-Léognan. Although produced under the Bordeaux Blanc appellation, the estate applies many of the same meticulous vineyard and cellar practices that have made Domaine de Chevalier one of Bordeaux's benchmark producers of dry white wine.

🍷 Personal Pick
This has quietly become one of the cornerstone whites in my cellar. I've followed several vintages, and each one seems to refine the style even further. The 2024 impressed me with its precision, softer edges, and seamless balance despite its youth. It's one of those bottles I never hesitate to recommend, beautiful now with seafood, but patient enthusiast will be rewarded with even greater complexity in a few years.
— 25 days ago

christina a love

9.5

Barnyard yeast excellent 1+1=4 w strong cheese — 8 days ago

romo

9.1

Likely the top QBR this year. - at Archer — 2 months ago

Jay Kline

8.9

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2022 “Le Domaine” pours a deep purple/ruby with an opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe and tart, dark fruits: cassis, blackberries, purple flowers, Poblano pepper, horse blanket and a mix of organic and inorganic earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. I always find this expression to be charming, albeit a bit rustic, and easy to love young while the single vineyard expressions are often backward for many years. Drink now through 2032. — 3 months ago

Alvaro Bustillos

9.5

Benito y c murgia joes dc — 3 months ago

Dave

9.2

Dynamite. Cork broke, but not to worry. The wine is so good. Deep, expressive fruit and bitter leaves. Earthy. Improving considerably as it breathes. And the bottle weighs 37 pounds.
Listening to Amy Winehouse — 4 months ago

Conrad Green

9.5

Not premoxed… hallelujah! Honey, lime, glorious freshness though. Intense and great length. Finally! — 11 days ago

with David

Kurt Schuster

9.3

Lush and velvety and plump. It’s hard to say restrained fruit forward but that’s what it feels like. It’s not an overwhelming fruit bomb, but it’s a smack you in the face with just the right amount of subtlety. Good structure, even though you can’t even tell any tans or acid or present, deep like almost inky black color. It’s surprising because I found it light and my wife found it heavy and both are right. It actually did not go with our dinner have an Italian style steak with arugula and Parmesan, that’s not the wine‘s fault it’s me choosing the wrong line. Silken expressive, but I don’t wanna call it constrained more like concentrated expression of the wine versus something dynamic and evolving. Absolutely delicious, but also heady and overwhelming.  — 22 days ago

with Denise

hyoah jeon

9.0

Pineapple, soft minerality with a honey sweetness. Slightly off dry, (to my taste) and provides perfect structural balance throughout — a month ago

Yoly Sardinas

9.2

Capital Grill - Providence RI — 2 months ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

Killer. Granite, red fruits, smoke, leather, so so aromatic. Just filthy. Palate is teeming with energy. It is insane that this regular cuvée from Gripa is so overlooked. A shanda. — 3 months ago

Matt Perlman

9.4

Lot of funk initially but on day two this really turned into a stunning wine. Give it some air and be open minded if there’s Brett at first because this is special stuff — 4 months ago

Bethany Welch

9.9

Peppery cherry. Mineral with bite. Slightly effervescent. Everything I love in a gamay. — 5 months ago

Mike Evans

9.6

Stunning and agile. — 5 months ago