A step-up in deft, nuanced flavours with a floral character coming through more clearly than in the older vintages (perhaps because higher Cabernet Sauvignon, giving touches of raspberry leaf and rosebud). Tannins are still covered in silk but there is a slate texture alongside that gives grain, flexibility and bounce. Extremely successful, one to put away for a few more years but then share widely. Consultant Michel Rolland, harvest September 20 to October 12.

The 2018 Pape Clément is such a beautiful and inviting wine. Silky, perfumed and layered, the 2018 shows the more restrained, vibrant style that has become the norm here in recent years. Red/purplish fruit, lavender, rose petal and spice are front and center, while the oak - in the past so strong here - is really dialed back. The 2018 is going to be a fascinating wine to follow in the cellar over the next several decades. The purity of the flavors is just striking.

The 2018 Pape Clément is dense, powerful, and brooding. In most vintages, Pape Clément is much more showy and inviting, but the 2018 is in no mood to show all of its cards. Instead, we find a Pape Clément that explodes with vertical intensity and lift. Captivating scents of gravel, smoke, leather, tobacco, chocolate and incense add layers of complexity. I can't wait to see how the 2018 ages. Today, it is super expressive. The blend is 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc. New oak is 45%. Tasted four times.

The 2018 Pape-Clément has a very intense nose of blackberry, briar, cedar and crushed flowers. That showiness that I commented upon in barrel has ebbed away to reveal a most sophisticated nascent wine. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, layers of graphite-infused black fruit and a keen thread of acidity. An attractive touch of pitted black olive toward the saline finish leaves you wanting more. This deserves a decade in bottle, but it is a classy Pape-Clément that should age well over the next 30–40 years. Very promising.

The 2018 Pape Clément was picked 20 September to 12 October. It has an intense bouquet with blackberry, bilberry, fig and crushed flowers, quite a showy and extrovert Pape Clément comparative to other vintages. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins, fine acidity, very smooth in texture with a seductive black olive and cassis tinged finish that is very persistent. It is a bold wine with ambition, although I wager that the 2016 Pape Clément will ultimately turn out to be the better wine.