Dear Friends,
First off, if you would rather avoid the exaggerated and over-generalized giant tomb of text below, you can skip to the bullet points at the bottom as a summation. In addition, all references to “historic” vintages such as 1900 or 1961 are assumptions based on bottles tasted over the course of my career - I was not alive when they were released
So...
While the world has descended on Bordeaux to sample the frost-affected 2017’s (sort of a 2014/2008/1999 hybrid of sorts), the taster is better served to take a look back at what is about to redefine an entire region.
2016.
Therefore...
It will come as little shock to those that have followed this page for a number of years when I type the following: at this stage (prior to bottling), 2016 is the finest red Bordeaux vintage of my lifetime. The highs are higher than 1982, 1989, 1990, 1996, 2005, 2010 and, yes, 2015...but it’s also far from homogeneous and more heterogeneous than will be comfortable for some (it will not be for everyone). It’s more in line with the variability of 1996 (a vintage with kinship) but it’s still a “do whatever is necessary to obtain” year.
Really?
Really.
Unlike its sibling vintage (2015) that it will ultimately be compared to throughout its life (think: 1928/1929, 1945/1947, 1959/1961, 1989/1990, 1995/1996, 2009/2010), 2016 is not a “feel good” story for the vast majority of consumers. 2015 is easier to understand and admire (but is it great?) - 2016 is a much tougher nut to crack unless you have a bit of experience with wine and some semblance of history with Bordeaux and the Old World in general. That does not mean it’s a collector-only vintage (even though the 2016’s may be a bit too 1970 for some mixed with a touch too much bursting red fruit and a molten mineral style akin to Morgon, Chinon and Mondeuse. If you fall into the latter camp, I implore you to cast preconception aside and go all-in on 2016 or you will miss what may ultimately be remembered and revered as the single most unique and exceptional vintage of the last 50+ years).
Really?
Really.
In a “futures” sense, there may never be another vintage as good as 2016 – plain and simple...at least not until next year
Like many others that wander through the world of wine writing and analysis, I’ve stumbled, fumbled and danced across an array of words to properly describe the 2016 Bordeaux vintage but it’s not easy to jumble together an appropriate string of descriptors. Pockets and parcels vary a great deal from North to South, Left to Right but words such as: INCREDIBLE, ALIVE!, FABULOUS, CEREBRAL and FASCINATING keep rearing their heads, yet...the “whole” is tough to describe with one set of words. If a unifying theme is your thing (i.e. 2015 is good, 1991 is not good), 2016 will not make you a happy camper. On the other hand, if you are willing to do a bit of research and work for your prize, it’s a vintage without peer.
The problem with 2016 for many consumers is that it’s devoid (mostly) of consumer-friendly and consumer-enticing word groupings such as: “IT TASTES LIKE HARLAN!”, “SLATHERED OAK!”, “YUMMY!”, “OHHH DARK FRUIT!” plus other easy-to-love words that are quite appropriate for 2015, 2010 or 2009 (2010 being the most tannic and potentially drying vintage of the three) but not so for 2016.
2016, by giant contrast, keeps coming back to simple minds that are actually quite cerebral – the three words: “Alive and Kicking” sum it up but I can also see a chip on 2016’s shoulder as it sings “Don’t You Forget About Me” while 2015 garners all the attention.
Why is 2016 “the greatest vintage” of my lifetime? I thought 2015 was the greatest?
2015 is, well, good (if you like the style) but 2016 is transcendental.
There are problems in 2016 for sure – it’s not an “Oh my!” year for Margaux in general (Chateau Margaux is excellent but it’s not at the heights of 1996 which may be the finest Margaux since the 1900) and it’s not a great year for a few notable surprises, the biggest being Canon. Once again, by contrast, 2016 was a potentially tough vintage on the plateau of Saint-Emilion and especially so at Canon (although, Ausone may have produced their greatest wine in 50 years).
As far as Canon is concerned, after such a world-unifying 2015 (a 100pt result from several critical voices), the 2016 feels pieced together from various plots that fought greenness and an uneasy/unripe quality. I’m sure my opinion will differ from Neal and others (who may place the 2016 Canon on a similar, although stylistically opposite/Franc jovial level as 2015), but - at this stage – the wine is fighting too many disparate parts that ultimately must become one. Time will tell, maybe it will happen – maybe they will produce a much smaller output of finished wine and only use the very best barrels without the troublesome Franc? We’ll see, but I’m not hopeful.
There are other problems in 2016 (Leoville Poyferre seems to have missed the mark) but there are also “otherworldly elations” (Les Carmes Haut Brion, the above mentioned Ausone, Calon Segur, Leoville Las Cases, Montrose, Figeac, Pichon Baron, Pichon Lalande, Pape Clement – really!) and there are a number of “jury's out” candidates (Cos d’Estournel will be the most controversial – I can see anywhere from 89pts to 100pts depending on the voice, Mouton as well due to its MASSIVE and tannic style) but one thing is certain: the highs of 2016 outstrip any preceding vintage, except for (maybe) 1961. It’s the only vintage I can ever remember tasting where more than a handful of examples left you without the ability to speak due to their absolutely spellbinding nature. In addition, the 2016 La Mission/Haut Brion two-step may be the finest since 1989 (both are FAR better than 2015 with less alcohol – a real problem in many of the 2015 Pessac/Graves red wines – some are pushing 15.0%).
Ok, enough background blather – what are the wines like?
First a bit more background (sorry).
One of the primary reasons 2016 is such a success is the modern age we live in. I’m not sure 2016 would have achieved the same starry heights if it were, say, vinified in 1996 (the vintage with the most appropriate comparison and potential “leafy” similarity – although most of the leafiness is on the Right Bank in 2016, not the Left and Right as in 1996). The current care and concern of the Bordelaise themselves (along with giant investment by individuals and conglomerates), is far greater in today’s Aquitaine than back in 1982 (or 1961) and it has has caused a race to the top with little room for error.
The funny thing?
The finest results of 2016 (to this stage, still in barrel) required no tinkering – they are as pure, natural and real as it gets.
In 2016, you have Bordeaux coming of age – greeting the next generation the way the iPhone held out its hand to Millennials still in grade school and ushered their entire youth into one giant “awareness” and editable Finsta cesspool of “I’ll show you exactly what I want to show you, with colors and staging perfectly in place, and nothing more”.
At some point we all require Rinsta – the “real” instant life showcase – our reality on display - with flaws, peaks and valleys lovingly on stage for your closest friends to admire.
That real life stage is 2016 Bordeaux.
2016 is unedited. It’s not always easy but it is stunning and most certainly great. It titilates and surprises the way few vintages can and/or will. It will not be lauded by all (it’s probably not a Suckling vintage) but it should be adored by the likes of Tanzer, Martin, Gilman and Galloni (I think).
A few quick facts on 2016 and a semi-summation of points made above:
• It’s a Left Bank year (generally) but not really a Margaux year.
• The song “Red Red Wine” is appropriate for several reasons – 2016 is a bursting freshness and massive red fruit and mineral-stuffed/rock-clenched vintage with few peers. It’s also a red wine vintage, the whites are, in general, not great.
• 2016 is an amalgam of everything here and now in the youth-bred wine world – think: Morgon, Savoie, new age Pommard, Chinon, Alto Adige, Gaillac and a host of other coolio regions and blend them together with the history and terroir of Bordeaux and you will be close.
• This is not 2008 or 2014 (2017 is somewhat in that vein). 2016 is a new, completely different animal with freshness and incredible levels of red fruit depth rarely, if ever, seen or tasted before. 100+ years of potential aging for the finest examples is not an exaggeration. I will repeat that: 100+ years.
• 2016 trends to be a Northern Left Bank year, the opposite of 2015. It’s eerily similar geographically to its partner in “6” crime – 1996 (except for an inverted relationship between Pessac and Margaux – Pessac was not the bullseye in 1996 but it is one of them in 2016 – the opposite for Margaux).
• 1995, like 2015, was incredibly hyped but it cannot live up to 1996. Same for 2015 versus 2016. When 2016 gets it, there is no way 2015 can live up to the greatness of 2016 (but that is not an absolute rule due to scattered success in 2016).
• 2016 gives us spectacular knee-bending mineral-stuffed, dry and Musigny-like gorgeous examples dotted about the landscape (but not everywhere). 2015, by contrast, does not have that type of backbone nor those types of highs but it is a more consistent and “yummy” vintage.
• 1996, like 2016, came along and spoiled the party with controversial/opposite reactions from respected critics – expect the same for 2016.
• 2016 should be a Tanzer and/or Neal Martin year.
• 2016 is probably not a Suckling year (although, I’m sure there will be a few requisite “100 pt” notes thrown around for good measure).
• US consumers tend to generalize. It feels good and puts most in a comfort zone: “2009 is great!”, “2007 is terrible, right?” 2016 is not a “general” vintage – you’re going to have to work a bit to get to the good stuff. If you need an “1982 is awesome!” year, stick with 2015 (but you also must enjoy the type of extractive/high alcohol style that puts Haut Brion and La Mission close to 15.0% alcohol. Yes, that 15.0%.)
• There are certain properties in 2016 that have produced what may very well be their single finest achievement to date and that is saying an awful lot (Leoville Las Cases, Ducru Beaucaillou, Montrose, Figeac, Calon Segur, Ausone, Le Carmes Haut Brion, La Mission Haut Brion, Pape Clement to name a few) and others that missed the plot because things just didn’t go their way (Canon, Leoville Poyferre, Pavie) and still others with 100pt potential but controversial personas (Cos d’Estournel, Mouton Rothschild).
• The wine of the vintage (still in barrel)? That is REALLY tough but I keep going back to Leoville Las Cases, Ducru Beaucaillou, Figeac and Ausone.
