Château Climens has returned to its cellars to re-release a limited quantity of its 1996 Barsac, including just 12 double-magnums. db's Bordeaux correspondent Colin Hay revisits a vintage once described by former owner Bérénice Lurton as a 'diva' and finds it on sublime form.
September is increasingly famous on la place de Bordeaux for the release of its autumn collection of wines from beyond Bordeaux. But we shouldn't overlook the growing, if still small, number of top Bordeaux re-releases, typically of older vintages direct from the cellars of the leading classed growths. These, of course, come with perfect provenance and, in a market hot for rarities, they are increasingly sought after.
One of the most interesting of this year's offerings is from Château Climens in Barsac.
A new release strategy
Following on from the March release of the 2023 vintage comes the September re-release of an historic vintage.
This is part of a new strategy for the commercialisation of its wines, with the property having withdrawn from the en primeur system to refocus its release strategy on vintages already available in bottle.
As part of this new strategy, 14 September saw it re-release a ...