Pessac-Léognan · vintage 2018
Why this vintage
- 98-99 from James SucklingBarrel-sample tasting range. And 3 other scores above 90/100.
- The 2018 vintage in Pessac-LéognanAfter a spring marked by mildew, the heat concentrated a small crop: rich, ripe wines with great depth of material.
Critic scores
- James Suckling98-99
- Vinous96
- Wine Enthusiast96
- Decanter94
The 2018 vintage in Pessac-Léognan
Vintage benchmark: 95/100 (appellation benchmark, not a score for this wine)
Vintage character: After a spring marked by mildew, the heat concentrated a small crop: rich, ripe wines with great depth of material.
Overall reading of the year’s season across Pessac-Léognan. An estate can depart from it sharply, in frost or hail years, where two neighbours did not make the same vintage. What this particular wine actually gave is on its technical sheet and in the scores above.
Blend of the 2018 vintage
- 66 % Cabernet-sauvignon
- 30 % Merlot
- 4 % Cabernet franc
Shares for this vintage, as recorded on the 2018 technical sheet. The vineyard itself is planted with 52 % merlot, 45 % cabernet sauvignon, 2 % petit verdot, 1 % cabernet franc — a vintage blend departs from the area under vine as the year dictates.
Figures from the 2018 sheet
- 27 yrsVine age
Winemaking
First sorting in the vineyard, manual harvest in crates. Manual destemming berry by berry and use of a sorting table. Transfer into 30-70 hl wooden vats by gravity flow. Low temperature pre-fermentation maceration 8°C. Manual punching down. 30 days maceration. The wine is run off into French oak barrels by gravity flow. Malolactic fermentation in oak barrels. Aging for 18 months in oak barrels.
Ageing
Ageing for 18 months in French oak barrels (90%) and foudres (10%).
Terroir
Clay gravels dating back to the end of the Pliocene epoch and the Quaternary period.
An offer on Château Pape Clément 2018
Availability, allocations and terms: the Compagnie Médocaine will reply promptly. The estate and vintage are already filled in in the message.
Texts and documents 2018
The texts below copy in one click for your product sheets, catalogues and social channels. The printable sheet condenses the whole page onto a single A4 page.
Visuals
This wine’s visuals are grouped in the media library. High-definition packshots, labels, back labels and lifestyle photos are reserved for clients and partners, on the Compagnie Médocaine’s VinCod media library.
Sheet checked on September 28, 2026. Technical data: the estate’s VinCod sheets. Critic scores: sources cited above, with their date. Vintage benchmarks and character: Compagnie Médocaine’s own editorial read. Soils and relief, where shown: the Compagnie Médocaine’s parcel survey and the Mapbox/IGN terrain model.