2016 Bordeaux Tasting Notes - St Emilion
2016 Carillon d'Angélus, St Emilion
Fresh, aromatic wine. Airy-pure black fruits and small berries. This is cool and very quickly structured with sticky tannins. Long and fresh and stuffed but perhaps lacking a bit of nuance and refinement.
2016 Château Angélus, St Emilion
60M; 40CS. 14.2%abv.
Rich, pure, sweet black fruit nose. Very black bramble and plum aromas. Plush entry, but this is instantly filled with significant structure inc. very fresh, piquant, upright tannins. Quite dry tannic grip. Really fresh. Very long and elemental with a slightly saline, fresh death.
83M; 17CF. 15.2%abv.
Tobacco dark aromas of sauvages damson and plum fruit. Plush entry showing a more domestic plum fruit. Some very fresh limestone grip. Really intense and drier this. Fresh and powerful wine. Oof.
2016 Chapelle d'Ausone, St Emilion
56CF; 22CS; 22M.
Really vividly coloured. Lots of spice here and there's a wealth of blackcurrant ripeness. Lovely nose, really quite aristo. Pure and structured from the front. Loits of limestone structure at the core and that rockiness fills out the end. Real citric freshness about this. Very long and lovely.
2016 Château Ausone, St Emilion
50CF; 50M.
There's great dark snap to the black cherry and blackcurrant fruit. A pronounced floral aspect. Maximum pretty, this. Floral with an orange citrus freshness. A cool and dense wine; orangy. Rich, integrated tacky tannins. There's limestone here, but cached, albeit burly and rich. Great confident, easy sustain here. Quite a laid back exterior but there's incisive mineral freshness within. Wow.
2016 Château Balestard La Tonnelle, St Emilion
70M; 25CF; 5CS. 14%abv.
Horrid sample to smell. Palate is rich and full of black plum fruit with a convincing core of fine tannin. This is really quite come hither. Long and there's touch of clay to the grip. Incisively juicy death.
2016 Château Beauséjour (Duffau-Lagarosse), St Emilion
90M; 10CF.
Boldly coloured. Smells of pot pourri, minerals and a complexity of black plums and other black fruits. Pure black, smoky cherry/plum, touch creamy and there's density up front here. Masses of very fine and rich tannins and a very minerasl upright and piquant freshness. Big, long, complex, pure wine. Tacky-fresh tannins. Superb density and an amazing finish. I want…
2016 Château Bellevue, St Emilion
14.5%abv. 80IPT.
Dry and shy nose showing some pure dark fruit, a touch smoky. Really fresh and crunchy wine stuffed with limestone structure. Energetic. Very long and embryonic. Tacky-fresh. Really good drive and energy here.
2016 Château Canon, St EmilionFloral, with red and black plum fruits. Very rich, plush entry with a distinct orange note. Rich, tacky-fine tannins and lovely piquant energy. Long, clay-like death. Fabulous, classy wine.
2016 Château Canon La Gaffelière, St Emilion
35CF; 10CS; 55M.
Quite shy, but some red and black fruit emerges, accompanied by a scent of orange. . This is very cool and coolly structured with a pointed limestone directness. Pippy and tacky-fine tannins are quite dominant. Long with very good intent and drive.
2016 Château Le Carré, St Emilion
85M; 15CF; 14.5%abv.Very domestic raspberry nose. Pastille-like. Supple-rich entry, then limestone grip swells to a fresh ending. Very long and direct. Wow.
2016 Château La Chenade, St Emilion
80M; 20CF.
Really very floral this. Nose of red and black candied fruit: cherries, principally, plus raspberry. Medium weight and quite cool and that raspberry thing repeats. Very fine tacky nutty tannins becoming very mineral and pointy. Long with a direct rear. Really spicy, incisive death.
2016 Petit Cheval, St Emilion
62M; 38CF. 13%abv.
Very floral blackcurrant aromas, pure and fresh. Plush entry not without its energy. Really cool wine that quickly picks up argilo-calcaire structure and grips in linear fashion. Domestic, raspberry flavour through the middle. Freshness internal. On its Franc. Very nice indeed.
2016 Château Cheval Blanc, St Emilion
59M; 38CF; 3CS. 14%abv.
Pout pourri of mineral and slightly minty Cabernet fruit, reserved and complex. Touch nutty and very delicious smelling. Very cool wine, classy and elegant then collecting grip and ripe lovely structure. The grip finally becomes fresh. Domestic pure fresh plum. Great sustain here. Very Cab. Very long and nicely fresh. One classy momma.
2016 Château Couspaude, St Emilion
The usual rather jammy aromas: smoky black cherry fruit. Yes there's more in the way of grip and intent than expected. This is long and quite smoky-oaky, with some big nutty tannins. Long. Very domestic. Seems good.
2016 Château Les Cruzelles, St Emilion
90M; 10CF.
More reserved, buut pot pourri plum darkness. Very nice tang to the dark flavours and grip arrives pretty quickly along with the upright, assertive tannins. Real density to the back end, with a structured, foursquare death. Very fresh grip.
2016 Château La Clotte, St Emilion
85M; 10CS; 5CF.
Richly ripe nose of black cherry and sweetly ripe plum. Very domestic with a hint of liquorice and dark chocolate. Cool entry and quite quickly firming up and becoming really seriously mineral-spicy. Great drive and intent to this. Integrated tacky-fresh tannins. Pretty serious stuff.
2016 Château Dassault, St Emilion
There's a hint of coffee to the black crunchy cherry/plum fruit. A rich, plush entry of rich plum fruit, then lots of dry woody tannins. Long and very intensely grippy. Seems rather bitter and wrung out.
2016 Le Dôme, St Emilion
Very domestic raspberry and blueberry, plus plums. There's something rather savoury about this. Palate is backward, direct and domestic. Very limestone, with integrated, spicy, powerful grip. Very very long and peppery. Lots here.
2016 Château La Dominique, St EmilionFlowers here. Big rich tacky tannins on the palate. Credible, I think.
100M.
Rich, plush nose of nut and ripe red and black plums. Something a touch saline about the nose and the pot pourri aromas. A biscuit note. Plush, fluid-cool entry. Red and black plum purity. Amicable and very, very long, then some mild structure arrives. Flattering with juiciness at the death.
2016 Château Eglise Clinet, St Emilion
90M; 10CF.
Tangy, sweet shop scents of Parma violets and fruit of red plums, saline and really pure and ripe. Red liquorice. Cool and dense and a touch creamy. This has so much more dimension and intensity. Long and spicy wine. Complex. Black cherry tang, plus sloe. Dense, with velvet gloves on. Great fresh solid grip here and great sustain. Iron fist of an ending. Impressive.
2016 Château Figeac, St Emilion
38CS; 26CF; rest M. 13.9%abv.
There a touchy of smokiness to the lovely blackcurrant and plum aromas. Hint of liquorice. A floral/orange tang. Cool entry a touch creamy and dark and pure. Lovely nutty-fresh, tacky tannins. The grip is exceedingly elegant. Long and limestone. Fabulous. Very pure. Another wine I really want in my cellar.
2016 Château de Fonbel, St Emilion
70M; 16CS; 7PV; 7Carm. 13.5%.
A dark and darkly spicy wine of very good snap. Plum and cherry. This is pretty snappy from the off. Fresh, incisive, upright structure here and some power. Long and structured wine that grips steadily through. Very long and assertive.
2016 Clos Fourtet, St Emilion (tasted at the UGC)Rich and nutty aromas. And the palate's dense and cool and laden with very nutty almond tannin. Fine shape. A long wine of real intent and grip.
2016 Clos Fourtet, St Emilion (tasted at the La Grappe tasting)
Topuch of pot pourri about this. Bit of smoky milk chocolate wood to the dark plum fruit. There's immediate structured tension in the mouth. Mineral juicy acidity and limestone, rocky tannic support. Busy and long wine. Backward. Intense and very, very tacky.
2016 Château Franc Mayne, St EmilionVery briary nose with floral black, very pure cherry fruit beneath. This is structured right through and peppery with it. A candied note mid-palate. Very, very assertive limestone grip. Backward and very hard work. Could work out. Very juicy-fresh and long. Oof.
2016 Château Grand Mayne, St EmilionNice nose: domestic and wild. Damson and fresh plum and raspberry. Creamy-supple entry. This is forward and unforced. Long and gaining in juicy acidity. All the while, ripe plums red and darker. Finishes very well.
65M; 35CF.
Dark. This is spicier than the Simard (the CF?). Snappy pure black plum and clay-like notes and spice and gingerbread. Very very cool. Full of clay-like very fine tannin. Direct and energetic wine. Grips gently and steadily throughout. Ripely, coolly structured. Lovely wine with a juicy death. Again, I think this is tops.
2016 Château Lafarge, St Emilion
92M; 8CF. 14.8%abv.Pure dark aromas of red and black plum; mulberry and pot pourri. Palate is rich and fresh and red with limestone rocky grip and a core of freshness. Very long. Another incisive wine. Very good.
2016 Clos La Madeleine, St Emilion
Nice nose: smells very ripely of very dark plum fruit, plus a hint of mint. Great tang right through this. Nutty core. Very long wine, with mineral grip emerging with some power. Convincing and very good indeed.
2016 La Mondotte, St Emilion
80M; 20CF.
This is a touch briary as well and there's a hint of smoky bacon. A pure cream of nicely ripe blueberry and plum. Very, very cool wine. This is backward and highly structured with integrated limestone rocky tannins. Sustained, quite serious grip swells and becomes more upright and incisive. Very, very long indeed. Serious stuff…
2016 Château Montlandrie, St Emilion
75M; 20CF; 5CS.
Really very rich liqueur of mentholated floral-dark cherry and plum fruit. Entry is supple-pure, then lots of fine tannin swells and grows to a powerful conclusion wreathed in limestone rocks. Very long and really quite impressive.
2016 Château Moulin Saint Georges, St Emilion
80M; 20CF.
Very different. Very black. Very floral. Very pure, almost candied black cherries and really floral, sweet shop bon-bons. Red apple. This is nice. Really linear and cool and very amicable. Gently fresh minerality emerges and grips evenly. But this is forward and delicious.
2016 Clos de l'Oratoire, St Emilion
90M; 10CF.
Touch biscuitty, a reich, spicy plum cream. Great gathering oif juicy intensity. Intense and the second half is pretty linear. Spicy and complete. Lots of wine here. Very good.
2016 Château Pavie Macquin, St Emilion
Very minty nose, plus the black plum fruit. A pure cherry litf. Plush up front then quite quickly loaded with very fresh structure. Limestone rockiness and fresh, juicy acidity. Peppery grip to this very long and mineral wine. Some heft.
2016 Château Quinault l'Enclos, St Emilion
68M; 20CS; 12CF. 13.3%abv.
Confected, interesting, exotic papaya and tomato and dark fruit aromas. Entry is plush and cool. Quite a rich wine that gains tacky-fresh tannins, then grips firmly through the back end. Very long. Odd, but good, I think. Finishes with clay-like, sustained grip.
2016 Dragon de Quintus, St Emilion
90M; 10CF. 14.9%abv. 63IPT.
A crunchy-dark-but-ripe nose. There's a hint of rose petals and, oddly, cumin. Red and black plum fruit. Really rich on entry and quickly well energetic. This is really mineral-fresh with dense sustain. It tastes purely of dark cherry/plum fruit plus some spice. Some very fine tannin. Long and a touch warm. Very good. Can be drunk soon.
2016 Château Quintus, St Emilion
70M; 30CF. 15%abv. 66IPT.
Rich aromas, clay-like, of red and darker domestic fruit. Nicely pure and fresh and high-toned. Raspberry and plum and perhaps a hint of mint (wood?). There's a raspberry blast on entrythen the fresh structure spears. 2nd half the structure becomes a fresh, mineral, quite peppery spine of incisiveness. Freshness right through this. Very domestic. Some tacky tannin. Very long. Red cherries. Energetic grip; lively wine, linear and focused.
2016 Saintem, St Emilion
100M
Quite a snappy thing this, of red and black cherry and dark flowers with a hint of liquorice. Instantly fresh on the palate. Lovely clean rich Merlot fruit from which emerges a spicy, tacky, mineral core.
2016 Château Simard, St Emilion
75M; 25CF.
Very pure, dark cherry fruit. Almost a glacé note to this. Pot pourri. Delightful scent. Palate offers nutty, just about integrated tannin. This grips freshly from the mid-palate. Masses oif pippy tannins. Long and quite linear. Very nice.
016 Château Teyssier, St Emilion
70M; 30CF. 14.8%abv.
Very domestic nose of raspberry and cherry cola. And a very rich and dense palate. Richly credible structure with rich and upright, incisive tannin. Very long. High grip. Busy and long. Stuffed!
2016 Château Troplong Mondot, St EmilionReally scented nose of menthol and dark, smoky cherry and plum fruit. Pastille-like thing here. A chocolate density and very pure black plum fruit. Domestic and modern. Very lonig. Becomes intense with grip and modern assertive structure. Rich and dark. A Marmite wine, perhaps. Very mineral limestone core. Nice.
2016 Vieux Château Mazerat, St Emilion
65M; 35CF; 14.4%abv.
Pure black plum fruit with a gingerbread, toasty spice. Entry is plush and plummy and pure, then one finds classy, rich, upright, fresh tannins and a very incisive, very fresh minerality. Very, very long with a peppery death. It's all here.
