Lots of En Primeur activity this morning.
The pick of the bunch is CHÂTEAU TALBOT at £246 per 6 bottles IB. Jancis says this is a wine that represents all that is best about the 2016 vintage. She’s absolutely right. It’s a wine of typically profound structure but there is plenty of intense blackberry fruit behind all that mass. As Galloni says, this has all the right ingredients to ‘age gracefully for decades’ and, at £246 per half-dozen bottles in-bond, it’s good value too. This comes highly recommended.
Also good value and highly recommended is the dependable Cru Bourgeois from CHÂTEAU POUJEAUX at £260 per 12 bottles IB. Neal Martin gave it an impressive 91-93 praising it for, ‘commendable depth and structure.’ He thinks this is a Poujeaux that could well match ‘the legendary wines from yesteryear.’
Another from Saint Julien released today is CLOS DU MARQUIS at £470 per 12 bottles IB. We found this had lovely purity and very good length when we tasted it at the Château. The critics were impressed too. Neal Martin gave it 93-95 and called it ‘majestic’. Jancis gave it 17, finding it ‘racy and rich.’ Our only concern is that this is right at the top end of our price estimate but this probably just reflects the impressive quality.
From the right bank we are offering CHÂTEAU LA CLOTTE released at £280 per 6 bottles IB. Neal Martin loved this wine, calling it ‘superb’ and rating it 94-96. He also commented that, since the property’s acquisition in 2014, Château La Clotte is rapidly becoming one of the Vauthier’s ‘standout wines alongside Ausone’. Praise indeed! The only downside here is that there won’t be much available but do place an order anyway and we will scour the Place to find you some.
Two Chateaux owned by the negociant Dourthe which are out today and offer really great value are CHÂTEAU BELGRAVE 
(£150 per 12 IB) and CHÂTEAU LA GARDE (£170 per 12 IB). There are some lovely notes for these wines this year, and we thoroughly enjoyed them when tasting in Bordeaux.
Last but not least, a reminder that yesterday saw the release of DAME DE MONTROSE at £156 per 6 bottles IB. This ‘delightful’ (NM, 90-92) Dame has ‘good raciness and energy’ (JR, 17) and, for a wine of this pedigree and elegance, it is an absolute steal. Unlike the grand vin there should be decent availability but, perhaps unsurprisingly, it is already selling fast so we do advise you to act now to avoid missing out.
As ever, you can keep up to date with everything out from #Bdx16 on our Recent Releases page.
Best wishes,