Pape Clément 2009 gets 100-points

US critic Robert Parker has given the 2009 Pape Clément 100-points in the most recent Hedonist’s Gazette, after a “fun” tasting of some wines from the vintage.

Parker recently handed over the reins of Bordeaux coverage at The Wine Advocate to Neal Martin but as editor Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW told the drinks business at the time that didn’t mean his days of scoring Bordeaux or anything else were completely over.

The latest score will not, however, be listed in TWA but will instead appear only in the Hedonist’s Gazette which is an occasional column dedicated to restaurant reviews and the wines drunk with the meal.

Dining at Magdalena in Baltimore earlier this year, Parker had a chance to revisit several 2009 Bordeaux – including several of his top-rated wines from the vintage.

Haut-Brion, La Mission Haut-Brion, Cos d’Estournel and Montrose that had gained 100-points in his original scores lived up to their billing, with Parker once again expressing his love of the Cos which he said was “a monumental wine that may well go down in history as this vintage’s 1947 Cheval Blanc.”

The biggest note of the evening however arguably went to Pape Clement’s 2009. Originally rated 95-points, it clearly shone enough on the night for Parker to give it 100. He originally noted in 2012 for the i-bottle review that it “may not be as sublime as the 2005 or 2000” but that it was “very close”.

In general he said of the 2009s (and of the 100-pointers in particular): “These amazing wines are not only showing their individual, singular terroir characteristics at age six, but the luxurious, extravagant richness and body of this vintage.

“As I have written and said publically many times, 2009 is the modern-day version of 1982, except much more consistent.”

Although he felt that the Cheval Blanc, La Gaffeliere and Rauzan-Ségla were a little tight, overall he was “amazed at how much fun it was to taste [these wines].”

Although the score is not ‘official’ – being just a one off – it will be interesting to see if it prompts any secondary market interest in the wines and in the Pape Clement in particular.

UPDATE: Shortly after publication Liv-ex announced that the Pape Clément 2009 traded at £1,130 a case, a 35% increase on its last trade price of £835. Although it remains to be seen if it will hold at that level, it shows, once again, that while Parker may have bowed out of Bordeaux his influence hasn’t entirely receded just yet.