2016 started badly in Bordeaux. After the warmest winter on record, budbreak occurred at the end of March, long before the danger of frost had passed. A spell of cold and wet weather delayed flowering until the middle of June and although a good set was achieved, July and August were very hot and very dry, inhibiting the development of fruit. Good rainfall at the beginning of September saved the day and then, miracle upon miracle, an unbroken ten-week spell of warm, dry weather enabled good crops of healthy grapes to be picked at the moment of optimum ripeness. Wines of high quality were made across to whole of the Bordeaux region in 2016 but the best of all were made in the Medoc, where Cabernet Sauvignon is a major component of most assemblages. The Medoc wines are deep, dark purple in colour. The have attractive aromas of ripe black fruit, In the mouth, it is the balance of ripe but not jammy fruit, gentle acidity and fine tannins that impresses. These are wines that will be attractive to drink young but will age beautifully in bottle. The bad news is that the Crus Classes are now difficult to find and sell at a premium. The good news is that the quality of ‘second’ wines and wines from petits chateaux, particularly those that have earned the seal of approval of the Cru Bourgeois Association of the Medoc, is exceptionally high in 2016. And the prices of these are much more affordable.
We have selected 8 Crus Bourgeois for this tasting. Here is the line-up:-
Châteaux Vieux Moulin, Lacour Jacquet, Peyredon La Gravette, Rollan de By, Moulin de Canhaut, Maison Blanche, Pierre de Montignac and Noillac.
Tutor Vivienne Franks with Malcolm Franks.
Bookings
Bookings are closed for this event.
