2016 Bordeaux - Neal Martin's new scores: "..the hype was justified"!
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Neal Martin, formerly of Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate and now of Vinous.com, and currently the world's most influential Bordeaux wine critic, has just published his first 'in-bottle' reviews of the much lauded 2016 Bordeaux Crus Classés.
The review confirms his original thoughts on this outstanding vintage. He says of the wines:
"2016 is a fantastic, sublime and at times entrancing vintage...the frothing hype that presaged en primeur was justified...I shall always remember my first impression of the 2016s: their elegance, purity and poise, the intensity of fruit, the articulation of respective terroirs, and that oft-forgotten virtue, how bloomin’ delicious they tasted. 2016 is a fantastic, sublime and at times entrancing vintage...
...During verticals, it is fascinating to compare 2009/2010 with 2015/2016. All are great Bordeaux vintages, yet the former exert more weight and grip and perhaps a more forceful style, whereas the latter convey greater tension and elegance...
(2016 Bordeaux)...is like upgrading a bicycle frame to one lighter and yet equally strong. Bordeaux tannins are now made of carbon fibre instead of steel...
...My God, there are wines so perfumed that you could just sit and nose the glass all day, enjoying the often quite floral style, as if a little bit of Margaux was distributed around the appellations. The delineation and precision are sometimes remarkable...
...Many of these 2016s will drink well after five or six years, though personally I would be broaching my 2012s and 2014s before delving into 2015s and 2016s..."
Our full list of 2016 Bordeaux can be found here but the following selection highlights wines whose scores have totally fulfilled, or even exceeded, his most optimistic pre-bottling score predictions.
2016 Bordeaux offered in bond and currently lying in France, due to land in the UK in spring 2019.
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2016 Ch Cos d'Estournel, Saint Estèphe |
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"The 2016 Cos d’Estournel was a bona fide showstopper out of barrel, the best that I had encountered in over 20 years of visiting the estate during en primeur, so my expectations were piled high when I returned to find out how it performs in bottle. Deep, almost opaque in color, it sports a very intense but broody bouquet with fathomless deep black fruit tinged with blueberry and violet. The aromas almost seem to envelop the senses. The palate is medium-bodied with ultra-fine tannin that I have never witnessed in any other vintage of Cos d’Estournel. There is a beguiling symmetry to this Saint-Estèphe, as well as unerring mineralité. The persistent, tobacco-tinged finish can be felt 60 second after the wine has departed. This is a monumental, benchmark Cos d’Estournel that will give not years but decades of pleasure, though I suspect it will close down
for a period in its youth, hence my drinking window. 13.07% alcohol. Drinking window 2030 - 2070. 100 points" Neal Martin, Vinous.com
1 case £1800 in bond
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2016 Ch Figeac, St Emilion |
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"The 2016 Figeac was bottled at the end of July 2018, since Frédéric Faye wanted to give the wine more time in barrel to develop more harmony. The stunning 24-carat bouquet rivets you to the spot with brilliant delineation and mineral-rich red fruit that articulates its terroir as well as any Right Bank you will find. The palate is medium-bodied with svelte tannin, perfect acidity, wonderfully integrated new oak and enormous depth toward the fresh, pencil-box- and cedar-infused finish. This is a classic Figeac, up there with the 1947 and 1949, both recently re-tasted and testifying to a wine that genuinely belongs among the elite Saint-Émilions. Faye believes it is the best Figeac he has ever made. He is correct. Drinking window 2023 - 2060. 100 points" Neal Martin,
Vinous.com
1 case £2,050 in bond
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2016 Ch Haut Brion, Pessac-Leognan |
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"The 2016 Haut-Brion has a beguiling sense of purity on the nose, which features scents of blackberry, crushed violet petals, hints of dark chocolate and even a suggestion of fresh fig. Underneath all this is a seam of mineralité that becomes more conspicuous with aeration, tightening everything up. The palate is medium-bodied with filigreed tannin, a satiny texture, perfect acidity and incredible harmony. Everything here is in the right place. Quite sensual in style, conveying an enthralling sense of delineation on the long finish. About as good as you will find in this vintage. Drinking window 2026 - 2080. 99 points" Neal Martin, Vinous.com
1 case £4,950 in bond
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2016 Ch La Chenade, Lalande de Pomerol |
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"The 2016 La Chenade, the Lalande de Pomerol from Denis Durantou, was bottled at the end of May 2018. It has a beautiful, well-defined bouquet that offers charming scents of wild strawberry, red currant and crushed stone. The palate is medium-bodied with an almost Burgundian tannin profile. This La Chenade is silky in texture and perfectly balanced, revealing palpable mineralité at its core. A stupendous wine from Durantou that oozes class and will give at least a decade’s worth of drinking pleasure. Drinking window 2021 - 2036. 92 points" Neal Martin, Vinous.com
3 cases £150 per case in bond
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2016 Ch Lalande Borie, St Julien |
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"The 2016 Lalande-Borie has a much more backward, introspective bouquet than the Fourcas-Borie, displaying earthy, tobacco-infused black fruit that refuses to come out and play. The palate is rounded on the entry with supple tannin and a fine bead of acidity. Quite minerally in style, leading to a fresh finish. Allow this four or five years in bottle and it will offer a decade of drinking pleasure. Drinking window 2023 - 2036. 92 points" Neal Martin, Vinous.com
5 cases £240 per case in bond
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2016 Ch Léoville Barton, St Julien |
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"The 2016 Léoville Barton has a beautiful bouquet of blackberry, gravel and hints of black truffle and pencil shavings, blossoming with aeration yet remaining classic in style. The palate is medium-bodied with gorgeous ripe tannins that exert gentle grip. Lightly spiced and wonderfully focused, leaving the tongue tingling with glee long after the wine has departed. This is one of the finest wines from the estate in recent years. Drinking window 2022 - 2040. 95 points" Neal Martin, Vinous.com
3 cases £760 per case in bond
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2016 Ch Montrose, St Estèphe |
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"The 2016 Montrose has a tightly wound bouquet that is extremely well focused. This is one of the most pixelated aromatics I can remember on a Montrose at this stage, featuring blackberry, boysenberry and cedar and real mineralité underneath. The palate is medium-bodied with fine density and wonderful salinity. There is tremendous precision with razor-sharp tannin, and a brightness on the finish that is exceptional. This is a Montrose that will comfortably sit alongside the canon of great vintages from this Saint-Estèphe estate. As my score implies, it’s up there with the first growths. Stunning. Drinking window 2026 - 2075. 99 points" Neal Martin, Vinous.com
1 case £1,600 in bond
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2016 La Dame de Montrose, St Estèphe |
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"The 2016 La Dame de Montrose has a lovely bouquet of blackberry, tobacco, light black truffle notes and a touch of smoke. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grip, quite sturdy for a second wine, and lightly spiced with a sprinkling of white pepper on the surprisingly persistent finish. Excellent. Drinking window 2022 - 2036. 92 points" Neal Martin, Vinous.com
9 cases £315 per case in bond
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2016 Ch Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac |
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"The 2016 Mouton Rothschild bowled me over when I tasted it from barrel. Philippe Dhalluin compares it to the 1986 in terms of intensity of fruit, although there is more maturity and refinement in the tannins apropos of the 2016. Bottled in July 2018, this has an intense bouquet with pixelated black fruit, crushed stone, hints of blue fruit and a touch of India ink. But it is the delineation and focus that take your breath away. The palate is medium-bodied with very supple tannin framing the pure black currant and cassis fruit. The acidity is pitch-perfect, and there is a gentle but insistent grip toward the extraordinarily long finish. Racking my brains to think of another Mouton Rothschild that I have tasted over the last 20 years that was as good as this, I simply cannot come up with one. Drinking window 2030 - 2080. 100 points" Neal Martin, Vinous.com
1 case £5,400 in bond
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Ch Rauzan Ségla, Margaux |
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"The 2016 Rauzan-Ségla has an intense bouquet, one of the most perfumed that I encountered during my round of tastings. Violets infuse the ebullient black fruit, and traces of pencil lead emerge with time. The palate is medium-bodied, very pure and supple, displaying wonderful balance and a satiny texture that belongs in a lingerie shop. This is an utterly seductive Margaux, one of the finest in recent years as this estate continues its upsurge in quality. Few 2016s will dole out such inhibited pleasure. Drinking window 2022 - 2056. 97 points" Neal Martin, Vinous.com
2 cases £780 per case in bond
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2016 Ch Saintayme, St Emilion |
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"The 2016 Saintayme is quite deep in color. The bouquet unfurls gradually to reveal blackberry, briar and light cedar aromas, all gentle and refined. The palate is medium-bodied with quite firm tannins on the entry, a slightly chalky texture and a fine bead of acidity. This is a more masculine Saintayme compared to other vintages, displaying more grip and salinity toward the finish. I suspect that, given its amazing value, this will be consumed early, but personally, I would stash it away for three or four years, because it has more to give. Drinking window 2022 - 2032. 91 points" Neal Martin, Vinous.com
13 cases £125 per case in bond
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2016 La Petite Eglise, Pomerol |
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"The 2016 La Petite Eglise was picked on October 5 and matured in 50% new oak. It has a well-defined bouquet of blackberry, raspberry coulis and rose petal aromas; more sous-bois elements emerge with time in the glass. The fresh palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin and hints of oyster shell toward the persistent finish. I like the symmetry here. A wonderful La Petite Eglise that will give 10 years of pleasure, possibly more. Drinking window 2022 - 2035. 92 points" Neal Martin, Vinous.com
2 cases £360 per case in bond
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Minimum order: one case of 12 bottles. Payment: on receipt of invoice. Shipment: available from Spring 2019. Delivery: Offered in bond. Carriage, duty & VAT charged at prevailing rates at time of clearance from bond. E&OE.
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