Last week I attended Spec’s annual “Mostly Cru Classe” Bordeaux tasting for the 2016 vintage. Over 30 producers sent directors, winemakers, or a member of ownership so it was a great reference point for the vintage. Generally speaking, I was surprised by the fine tannins and approachability of the Left Bank wines. The structure of these wines is driven by acid and I found them to be well-balanced. Very few wines were overdone. Since I got married in '16, I’m extremely excited for these wines and most of the producers were as well. The vintage was most often compared to 2010. My quick, basic notes (all '16s):
Pessac Leognan
Ch. Carbonnieux Blanc - really excellent and a great QPR. Concentrated with a long finish.
Ch. Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc - much more dense and concentrated than the Carbonnieux. Oak more prominent. Should age well.
Ch. Smith Haut Lafitte Rouge - 14% alc. Overly ripe and too monolithic for my tastes.
Ch. Carmes Haut Brion - ripe and fruit-driven but with nice mouthfeel and freshness. More red fruited and medium bodied than the SHL tasted just before it. The 2015 I had recently was much more structured and tannic. With the huge price increase in 16, I’m going back to look for more 14s and 15s.
Ch. Haut Bailly - Dense and black. Was more like a Pauillac or St. Julien. Pure fruit profile and great length. This will be great at some point.
Pauillac
Ch. Lynch Bages - big, powerful wine with dense, dark fruit. It has the stuffing to age for decades.
Echo de Lynch Bages - similar in style of course, but more expressive. Qualitatively this was above many esteemed classed growth wines. My favorite 2nd wine of the tasting.
Ch. Grand Puy Lacoste - The most floral nose of the Pauillac wines. This GPL is very structured but polished.
Ch. Pichon Lalande - Sadly shut down. The wine I was most excited to taste going in. I came back late in the tasting for a second shot and it was still very closed. The chateau representative told me that PLL tends to shut down hard around year three so he wasn’t surprised. This being said, the wine was dark, dense, and no doubt has serious potential. More espresso and tobacco than fruit at this point with refined tannins. I’m buying several based on earlier reviews of its potential.
Ch. Pichon Baron - Dark and dense like the PPL but slightly more open. Rich and concentrated with great acidity and refined tannins.
Ch. Clerc Milon - Impressively polished and balanced. Fine tannins and abundant acidity but also loads of fruit. Chocolate and raspberry notes. Long finish.
Ch. d’Armailhac - Great QPR as usual. Less dense than the Clerc but similarly well balanced. Should be enjoyable young and for at least a decade.
St. Julien
Ch. Gloria - this perennial QPR winner should continue the trend with the '16. Slightly riper than recent vintages (haven’t tasted the '15 yet though) with harsher tannins right now than most other wines in the tasting. I would probably wait until 2021 to try again.
Ch. Leoville Poyferre - The nose was closed and the fruit is overshadowed by oak and tannin at this stage. Medium-bodied. The wine possessing the least integrated oak among the major Left Bank wines.
Ch. Leoville Barton - A must buy for me. Super dense and layered. Qualitatively comparable to the Pichon Lalande but with more vibrant fruit.
Ch. Branaire Ducru - Much less dark and brooding than the other St. Julien wines. More red fruit profile than black. Nice fruit. An impressively made wine at this price point.
St. Estephe
Ch. les Ormes de Pez - Great QPR but needs a lot of time. Polished but too tannic for near-term drinking.
Ch. Phelan Segur - Good QPR. More traditionally styled with great balance and fruit. Should age nicely for the medium term.
Margaux
Ch. Rauzan Segla - Bigger than the other Margaux tasted and less red-fruited. Concentrated with a decent amount of tannin.
Ch. Cantenac Brown - Beautiful floral violet nose. Arguably the most expressive nose of the tasting.
Ch. Brane Cantenac - Really pretty wine. Elegant and red fruited. Should be enjoyable young with a good decant.
Ch. Giscours - Great acid and purity of fruit. Mouthwatering. Floral nose.
Haut Medoc
Ch. Cantemerle - The most distinctive wine of the tasting for me interestingly. Very expressive and elegant. A must buy IMO.
Pomerol
Ch. Gazin - Like the Clinet, very tannic. Hard to taste the fruit but I liked it. Ironically, I walked away from the tasting only getting that gritty mouthfeel young Bordeaux imparts from the two Pomerol I tasted!
Ch. Clinet - Tannic and super structured.
St. Emilion
Ch. Grand Corbin Despagne - Big and sexy. Great QPR.
Ch. Canon la Gaffeliere - Surprisingly approachable and tasty now. Velvety mouthfeel and correct St. Emilion flavor profile. Stephan von Neipperg was pouring and his wines were getting plenty of attention, especially from less experienced tasters who were blown away by the sensual nature of his wines vis-a-vis the big Cabernet-based wines.
Ch. Clos de l’Oratoire - Good QPR. Ripe and velvety.
Ch. Canon - My notes were “meh”. Had high hopes after the supposed greatness of the '15. Price has gone up a ton so I hope my notes weren’t accurate for those that purchased this EP.
Clos Fourtet - Cigar box and floral nose. Concentrated on the palate but relatively shut down compared to other wines from St. Emilion.
Ch. Pavie Macquin - Was experiencing palate fatigue by the time I got to this one but others had a lot of praise for it.