Bordeaux 2016 at Two Years: St Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé
I found it hard to imagine that any subsequent vintage would challenge the evident supremacy of 2015 in the St Emilion appellation. Although not universally successful on the left bank, here on the right bank the 2015 vintage was quite superb. The overarching style was rich and heady, the wines brimming with black cherry and perfumed damson fruits, the textures broad, velvety and quite luscious. This applied as much to the wines of the petits châteaux on the sandy plains as it did to those from the premier grand cru classé estates on the St Emilion plateau. Many smaller estates made what was, I thought, their best wine ever, or at least the best I have tasted while I have been covering Bordeaux.
And then along came 2016, and while it is not so immediately alluring as 2015 proved to be, this is a vintage to challenge its apparent supremacy. While 2015 impressed with its beguiling texture, 2016 has instead provided us with something perhaps even more valuable and, these days, rather more rare; this is a vintage defined in this appellation by a deliciously savoury and sinewy density, with none of the puppy fat seen in 2015, this characteristic usurped here by piles of freshness and a quite wonderful balance. As with 2015, the vintage is strong across all corners of the appellation, at all levels, but it is of course with the wines of the premier grand cru classé estates that we see many of the most striking success stories.
During the course of my visits and tastings of the 2016 vintage I managed to get a handle on the majority of such estates, but not quite all. The most apparent absentee from this report is Château Ausone; with only a few days on the right bank it was simply impossible to find a mutually agreeable time for a visit with Pauline Vauthier (on the days I was available, Pauline was away on business). I put the free time to good use though, cramming in as many visits at other châteaux as each day could feasibly accommodate.
