Château Climens Asphodele 2019

A crystalline and mineral-touched nose – apple skin, lemongrass and white flowers. Just so pure and lifted with notes of elderflower and rose reminding me of an English garden. This is so complete on the palate, fleshy but well defined with a really soft honey edge supported by stone fruit and a clear minerality too. Excellent acidity, it’s quite a ‘white’ style, not exuberant but nicely refreshing and inviting. Clear, bright and lively but at the same time a soft powdery minerality gives it a texture, like velvet that sweeps across the tongue. Elegant and finessed with a real personality – you wouldn’t guess it’s from Sauternes or even Bordeaux. A nice expression of a dry white from the sweet region. Winemaker Pascal Jolivet consultant. Drinking window: 2025-2044. Score – 94. (Georgina Hindle, decanter.com, Jan. 4, 2022)