2016 Bordeaux En Primeur

94 Points - James Suckling "Suave aromas of cedar and fresh red flowers with a thread of ripe red berries and blackcurrants, mulberries, coal smoke and cool stones. The palate delivers a wealth of rich red-fruit flavors, framed in sleek tannins that build with precision and length. A class act. One of the best from here in the modern era. Try from 2023."

17 Points - Jancis Robinson "Bright crimson. Racy and very rich and polished. Lovely tannins. Very juicy. Some tannin and potential underneath. Firm structure but no austerity. GV"

Neal Martin "The 2016 Sénéjac has an attractive bouquet with floral-tinged red and black fruit—strawberry pastilles and just a touch of bay leaf, nicely defined and gaining intensity with aeration. The palate is very well balanced with fine tannin, well-judged acidity, very harmonious with assiduous use of new oak. This is a very stylish Haut-Médoc, one of the best that I have tasted in many years. This comes highly recommended."

Jancis Robinson "Relaxed, well-integrated, ripe nose. Sweet, purple fruits and quite a bit of both acid and tannin but just the right side of rasping. A success on a bourgeois scale. Lovely fresh confidence. GV?"

James Suckling "Very charming and precocious with ripe-redcurrant character and a lovely combination of delicate sweetness and supple tannins on the palate, the finish long and silky. Drink or hold."

16.5 Points - Julia Harding MW (JancisRobinson.com)  "Fragrant, lively and pure-fruited. Cassis and cedar and almost floral. Sweeter and more oak-marked on the palate, with spice and milk chocolate. Chewy but generous and long. Needs time to gain elegance but all the parts are there."

94 Points - James Suckling "A red with very deep and intense fruit character, yet rich tannins to back it all up. Full-bodied, layered and powerful. The second wine of Cos d’Estournel is serious again in 2016. Try from 2025."

92 Points - Neal Martin "The 2016 Les Pagodes de Cos is matured in 30% new oak. It has an intense bouquet for a deuxième vin, featuring blackberry, bilberry, light cedar and graphite aromas, quite Pauillac in style. The medium-bodied palate is fresh and vigorous though not deep, displaying fine tannin and exerting a gentle grip. There is a symmetry about this Les Pagodes, which is longer than other vintages, with just a hint of graphite and cracked black pepper on the finish. Excellent."

16.5 Points - Jancis Robinson "Tasted blind. Sweet and round on the nose. Good attack with tea-leaf flavour. Dry finish. Very appetising and well mannered without being at all flashy. Builds pretty well on the finish. Admirably persistent. But not one of the most intense."

94 Points - James Suckling

A wine with generosity yet, at the same time, structure with pretty, dusty tannins. Full body. Crushed stones and dried earth. Very consistent and long. Impressive. Hard to decide whether it’s better than 2015. Beautiful. Drink after 2021.

93 Points - Decanter 

Beautifully rich in colour, this has a wonderful depth to it, with blueberry notes, a touch of cinnamon, and gorgeous clarity of fruit. Tender tannins with a salted butter finish. This is made entirely from Château Montlandrie’s own vines, including production from all of the newly planted areas, whereas the 2014 vintage was missing perhaps 10% of the new vine plantings. 2016 was also the first year that the wine was fully barrel aged, using 40% new oak, although it is still vinified in stainless steel. This is a new step for Montlandrie. Not yet bottled at the time of tasting.

92-93 Points - James Suckling 

This is very dense and beautiful yet it’s agile and exciting. Blueberries, chocolate and walnuts. Full to medium body and beautiful length. Juicy center palate of fruit.

91 Points - Neal Martin 

The 2016 Saintayme is quite deep in color. The bouquet unfurls gradually to reveal blackberry, briar and light cedar aromas, all gentle and refined. The palate is medium-bodied with quite firm tannins on the entry, a slightly chalky texture and a fine bead of acidity. This is a more masculine Saintayme compared to other vintages, displaying more grip and salinity toward the finish. I suspect that, given its amazing value, this will be consumed early, but personally, I would stash it away for three or four years, because it has more to give.