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This Week's Must-Try Wines from Vinous

Welcome to this week's Vinous Top Ten! Each week we compile a list of top ten wines from the Vinous database that you need to add to your wine wish list. With all the various regions, producers, and grapes, no week will be the same! All of the wines listed in this feature are available for purchase on Banquet . This week's must-try wines are from Neal Martin’s article Southwold: 2016 Bordeaux Blind . Enjoy an excerpt from his article and his notes for this week's top ten below! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ “Now that the previous decade is in our rearview mirror, it is possible to step back and take a look back the peaks and troughs of Bordeaux vintages. You might argue that high points are almost cyclical, coinciding with the middle of each decade; case in point, the pairs of 1985 and 1986, then 1995 and 1996, followed by 2005 and most recently 2015 and 2016. The last of these was born with a halo above its head, for it crystallized everything Bordeaux had been progressing toward over the previous ten years. It is an exemplar, a benchmark against which subsequent vintages are compared, not least coevals such as 2015, 2018 and 2019. Yet even those are not anointed with quite the same aura or reverence, despite the 2016 alumnus being in bottle for only a few months.” --Neal Martin, Southwold: 2016 Bordeaux Blind, August 2020 1. Angélus 2016 Angélus 2. Bélair-Monange 2016 Bélair-Monange 3. Calon Ségur 2016 Calon Ségur 4. Cheval Blanc 2016 Cheval Blanc 5. Cos d'Estournel 2016 Cos d'Estournel 6. Dauzac 2016 Dauzac 7. Franc Mayne 2016 Franc Mayne 8. Palmer 2016 Palmer 9. Siran 2016 Siran 10. Valandraud 2016 Valandraud

Chateau Valandraud

Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend 2016

Delectable Wine
9.6

The 2016 Valandraud is inky black in color. It has a very pure, precocious bouquet of intense black cherries mixed with cassis and blueberry, but after a couple of minutes’ aeration it develops more refinement and harmony. The palate is medium-bodied, offering supple tannins, a fine bead of acidity, gentle grip and great precision on the persistent finish. Excellent. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, August 2020)
 — 4 years ago

Chateau Dauzac

Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 2016

Delectable Wine
9.3

The 2016 Dauzac presents an impressive bouquet of intense black cherry and bilberry fruit, crushed stone and wilted violets; the oak here is very well integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and pliant in the mouth. The saline finish fans out with style. Very fine. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, August 2020)
 — 4 years ago

Alex and Mike liked this

Château Cheval Blanc

St. Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 2016

Delectable Wine
9.8

The 2016 Cheval Blanc has an exquisite bouquet of pixelated black and red fruit, crushed stone, violets and seamlessly integrated new oak; this is utterly seductive. The medium-bodied palate reveals a hint of marmalade on the entry. Powerful and dense, this is an impressive, almost heady nascent wine with plenty of grip and sinew toward the finish. Maybe it lacks that crystalline detail at the moment, but it is clearly a long-term proposition. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, August 2020)
 — 4 years ago

Alex liked this

Château Angélus

St. Émilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend 2016

Delectable Wine
9.7

The 2016 Angélus has an intense, powerful bouquet with copious black cherries, boysenberry, orange pith and iodine scents that threaten to overwhelm the senses. The medium-bodied palate offers supple tannins, a fine bead of acidity, a dash of black pepper and impressive detail and persistence on the finish. This is an outstanding Angélus that clearly requires several years in bottle to realize its full potential. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, August 2020)
 — 4 years ago

Alex liked this

Château Siran

Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 2016

Delectable Wine
9.2

The 2016 Siran has a well-defined bouquet of blackberry, raspberry, rose petal and crushed violet aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, and quite saline in the mouth. The nicely proportioned finish displays very well-integrated oak. This is a gorgeous, sensual Margaux that should offer 20–30 years of drinking pleasure. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, August 2020)
 — 4 years ago

Alex and Mike liked this

Château Franc-Mayne

Saint-Emilion Red Bordeaux Blend 2016

Delectable Wine
9.3

The 2016 Franc-Mayne has a detailed bouquet of blackberry, wild strawberry and floral (rose petal) aromas that gain intensity with just a few swirls of the glass. Very sensual! The palate is medium-bodied with fine-boned tannins and well-judged acidity, tightening up toward the finish but delivering plenty of substance and body. This seems to have gained the persistence that I was looking for 12 months ago. Great potential. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, August 2020)
 — 4 years ago

Alex and Mike liked this

Château Calon-Ségur

Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 2016

Delectable Wine
9.6

The 2016 Calon-Ségur has a very concentrated, multifaceted bouquet of blackberry, blueberry, cedar and wild mint. I adore this – so involving and so intoxicating! The palate is very well balanced with succulent tannins and a fine bead of acidity, full of tension and poise. Black cherry and blueberry emerge toward the satisfying, complete finish. A gorgeous Saint-Estèphe. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, August 2020)
 — 4 years ago

Alex liked this

Château Palmer

Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 2016

Delectable Wine
9.8

The 2016 Palmer has a generous, slightly lactic bouquet of opulent red fruit infused with touches of dark chocolate, although it calms down and gains more grace with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and well-judged acidity. Very harmonious, revealing cedar and mint toward the extraordinarily persistent finish. This is another classy, persistent Margaux with a long future ahead. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, August 2020)
 — 4 years ago

Alex and Mike liked this

Château Cos d'Estournel

Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 2016

Delectable Wine
10

In my last sighted review of the 2016 Cos d’Estournel, I wrote: "I suspect it will close down for a period in its youth." Perhaps it is already beginning to shut down, because though this wine was deeply impressive, it fell just a notch short of ethereal previous bottles, despite its "pixelated black fruit" on the nose and "sublime balance" on the palate. I tasted the wine twice thereafter, though this time with a 4-6 hour decant, and this revealed the Cos d'Estournel that has amazed since I first tasted it out of barrel. (Neal Martin, Vinous, August 2020)
 — 4 years ago

Alex, Mike and 1 other liked this

Château Belair-Monange

St. Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 2016

Delectable Wine
9.6

The 2016 Belair-Monangé displays almost clinical precision on a nose of mineral-rich black cherry and raspberry fruit, plus hints of wilted violets and iris. The medium-bodied palate delivers firm grip on the entry. This is a clean, precise, correct Saint-Émilion with plenty of tension and poise toward the persistent finish. Very classy and noble. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, August 2020)
 — 4 years ago

Alex liked this