Finally notes taken on wines tasted at the Bordeaux Grand Cru Classé tasting in London last year. While the majority of these were 2018s that I’d missed during primeurs week, it was also a good opportunity to look at other recent vintages. In Margaux, Château Rauzan Ségla had made a sublime wine in 2018, so too Château Branaire-Ducru and Château Léoville Poyferré in St Julien. In Pauillac, Château Pontet Canet was astonishing, paralleled in different ways by extraordinary wines at Château Montrose in St Estèphe and Château Smith Haut Lafitte in Pessac-Léognan.

Many of the red wines tasted during my visit to Bordeaux this April had freshness, engaging aromas, juicy fruit flavours, reasonable depth and generally soft tannins. On this basis 2017 is surely a good vintage? Well yes. For the best properties we’re talking of wines with elements of 2014, 2012 and 2008, possibly a combination of all three in certain places. Things are more exciting for the whites [it looks to be a brilliant year] and Sauternes too has excelled again. But these generalisations hide a somewhat heterogeneous vintage.

There is no doubt that 2016 is a brilliant year for St Estèphe. The dry summer and sunny harvest conditions played to the strengths of the terroir here. I’ve already marvelled at the harmony and balance of the wines at Château Calon Ségur, Château Montrose and Château Cos d’Estournel in this vintage, but, as ever, there are a bevy of other wines at lower price points that have produced wonderful red wine. Château Beau-Site, Château Le Boscq, Château Capbern, Château Le Crock, Château Domeyne, Château Haut-Marbuzet and Château Meyney, to name a few, have all made excellent wines. St Estèphe is really an appellation to seek out in 2016 [as in 2014 too]. It is also one of my favourite Bordeaux appellations.

Château Montrose has been on a roll for the past decade. Legendary wines have been made here in 2009, 2010 and 2014. 2016 continues this run of form at this leading St Estèphe property. The vineyard position here, adjacent to the Gironde, brings to mind Château Latour in Pauillac, and Château Léoville-Las-Cases and Château Ducru-Beaucaillou in St Julien, although Montrose’s aspect in St Estèphe is somewhat more elevated than these other great sites. 2016 Montrose shares characteristics with both the 2010 and 2014 here in my book. It is a wine laden with cassis and blackcurrant fruit and exhibits wonderful purity. La Dame de Montrose has lashings of plum and black cherry aromatics along with some graphite tones. Château Tronquoy-Lalande, junior to both of these wines, from an entirely different terroir, looks to be exceptional value in 2016. It has produced a wine loaded with fruit, bounce and life. Perhaps it’s the best yet from this property?