"Still young and vibrant, with a deep ruby/purple color and a sweet nose of black currants intermixed with earth and some vanilla, this medium-bodied wine is very graceful, stylish, and classic, with relatively high tannin, a cooler-climate flavor profile, and long, moderately tannic finish. Still youthful and vigorous, this wine should evolve effortlessly for at least another 10-15 years."
- Wine Advocate, April 2002
"Big, broad, lush, supple and tannic, this is a rich, complex, dramatic wine with layers of cedar, plum, and currant flavors that are sharply focused, elegant and subtle."
- Wine Spectator, June 1989
"Still young and vibrant, with a deep ruby/purple color and a sweet nose of black currants intermixed with earth and some vanilla, this medium-bodied wine is very graceful, stylish, and classic, with relatively high tannin, a cooler-climate flavor profile, and long, moderately tannic finish. Still youthful and vigorous, this wine should evolve effortlessly for at least another 10-15 years."
- Wine Advocate, December 2016
"The 1986 Pape Clément was the first vintage of this wine in many years to garner any positive attention from Robert Parker, and the early promise it showed out of the blocks remains in evidence, but the rather tough structure of the ’86 vintage must be waited out before this wine really starts to deliver a lot of pleasure on the palate. The first rate nose offers up a really lovely blend of sweet cassis, dark berries, black truffles, Cuban cigars, gravelly soil tones, a touch of new wood and a bit of cigar ash in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and shows off a great core of sweet fruit, with still some f"""Still young and vibrant, with a deep ruby/purple color and a sweet nose of black currants intermixed with earth and some vanilla, this medium-bodied wine is very graceful, stylish, and classic, with relatively high tannin, a cooler-climate flavor profile, and long, moderately tannic finish. Still youthful and vigorous, this wine should evolve effortlessly for at least another 10-15 years.""
- Wine Advocate, April 2002
""Big, broad, lush, supple and tannic, this is a rich, complex, dramatic wine with layers of cedar, plum, and currant flavors that are sharply focused, elegant and subtle.""
- Wine Spectator, June 1989
""Still young and vibrant, with a deep ruby/purple color and a sweet nose of black currants intermixed with earth and some vanilla, this medium-bodied wine is very graceful, stylish, and classic, with relatively high tannin, a cooler-climate flavor profile, and long, moderately tannic finish. Still youthful and vigorous, this wine should evolve effortlessly for at least another 10-15 years.""
- Wine Advocate, December 2016
""The 1986 Pape Clément was the first vintage of this wine in many years to garner any positive attention from Robert Parker, and the early promise it showed out of the blocks remains in evidence, but the rather tough structure of the ’86 vintage must be waited out before this wine really starts to deliver a lot of pleasure on the palate. The first rate nose offers up a really lovely blend of sweet cassis, dark berries, black truffles, Cuban cigars, gravelly soil tones, a touch of new wood and a bit of cigar ash in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and shows off a great core of sweet fruit, with still some firm tannins buttoning up the backend, good acids and very fine length and grip on the focused finish. This still seems right on track for an excellent apogee of drinkability, but it remains too young for primetime drinking at age twenty-five. (Drink between 2017-2050)""
- John Gilman, August 2016
"Firm tannins buttoning up the backend, good acids and very fine length and grip on the focused finish. This still seems right on track for an excellent apogee of drinkability, but it remains too young for primetime drinking at age twenty-five. (Drink between 2017-2050)"
- John Gilman, August 2016
