2011 Climens

97 POINTS

James Molesworth - Wine Spectator

Still tight, with an energetic core of white peach, creamed pineapple, persimmon and white ginger flavors. The backdrop of orange blossom and singed almond notes adds extra dimension on the finish. This will go a long way in the cellar. Best from 2016 through 2035.

96 POINTS

James Suckling

A dense, racy, sweet white with dried-apple, apricot and honey character. Full, very sweet and fresh. Tangy, spicy aftertaste. Shows lots of subtle, intense botrytis-spice character on the finish. Better in 2016.

96 POINTS

Ian D'Agata - Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

Bright gold-tinged yellow.  Knockout nose combines lime, pineapple, honeyed peach and cinnamon, complicated by very pure floral botrytis.  Dense and ripe but vibrant too, with strong spice character and harmonious acidity enlivening the wine's highly expressive lemon and tropical fruit flavors.  Finishes broad, tactile and very complex, with terrific length and a lingering spicy nuance.  A star of the vintage.

95 POINTS

Jeannie Cho Lee MW - Asian Palate

Tasted 8 different barrel samples harvested between 8-28 September. Fine, complex, elegant. Final blend under the deft guidance of Berenice Lurton will no doubt create another great vintage for Climens.

94 POINTS

Neal Martin - Wine Advocate

Tasted blind at the Sauternes 2011 horizontal tasting. The Château Broustet 2011 puts in a good show for the vintage. It has a very pure and lifted bouquet with light honey, orange peel, lanolin and yellow flowers that gain intensity with time. The palate is medium-bodied with a fine line of acidity, viscous in texture, very pure and elegant with an almost nonchalant finish that feels long, even if it does not quite possess the complexity of its peers. Enjoy this in the short to medium-term.94+ points

Julia Harding MW - JancisRobinson.com

Drink 2021-2040 As in every other year, Bérénice Lurton offers a tasting of different barrels, representing different lots picked from different parcels on different dates – there were 14 lots in all. They are not ready to make the blend yet but tasting a selection of the possible components can give you some idea of the wine to come. Lurton explained that the heterogeneity of maturation was made more homogeneous by the effect of botrytis. Botrytis tends to hide the differences in ripeness but it can still be felt in the level of acidity. They started picking very early, on 8 September, though that first pass through the vineyard was partly a clean-up operation to remove any unhealthy berries. 80% of the harvest occurred 8-21 September and this fruit forms the heart of the wine this year. Main picking began on 12 September and finished on the 28th, with the development of botrytis fast and furious so that they had to bolster the picking team by an extra 50 on the weekend of 17/18 September. Since the grapes were so concentrated this year, they picked more 'golden berries' (ripe but not botrytised) to retain freshness and elegance and avoid overconcentration and heaviness. Yields were good overall (c 20 hl/ha, similar to 2010 and 2011), fermentations a little slower than average (generally about a month). Lot 6, picked on 15 September had quite a mineral streak with spice and terrific freshness. Lot 9 from 18 September was richer and denser with more barley sugar and orange flavours but still had great acidity. Lot 11, picked 20 September had fine tension and length – real elegance and subtle orange notes. Lot 12, from 21 September was dense and very very long. Lot 13, picked 26-28 September and therefore comprising some of the most concentrated berries but also some 'golden berries', resulting in a rich but very lively elixir. If these examples are anything to go by, this will be a very pure and elegant vintage with excellent freshness. My average score was 18. Drink dates are harder to predict but (having tasted some much older vintages here), I'd estimate 2021-2040+. (JH) 18/20