Chateau Le Boscq Saint – Estephe 2016 Cru Bourgeois Vignoble Dourthe

Region : France
Type : Red Wine
Grape : 48% Cabernet Sauvignon , 47% Merlot , 5% Petit Verdot
Rating JS 93-94/100

Tasting Notes
Incredibly deep, and still almost black in appearance. The intense and complex bouquet imparts lovely fruit intensity to notes of cedar, spice and precious wood. The wonderfully supple palate gradually gains in intensity. Densely-packed, silky and very fine-grained tannic structure underpins generous richness on the palate, and is coated with spice and ripe fruit flavours. Smooth and concentrated, the wine culminates in a notably long, lingering finish, characterised by freshness and spice.

The Vintage
The first six months of the 2016 grape season turned out to be particularly rainy and warm, replenishing water reserves in the soils which would serve the vines well in forthcoming months. Which was just as well as sunshine set in for the long haul from mid-June, bringing very dry weather until the end of the harvest. The combined effect of available water supplies and favourable temperatures – not too excessive during the day and very cool at night – played an important role in developing the fruit and their aromas during ripening. Harvesting was conducted selectively and proceeded at a leisurely pace, with the added luxury of extending over a 4-week period. Careful sorting in the winery using our new optical sorting equipment meant we vinified perfect, plump, and ripe berries; a small proportion of only the most premium quality parcels for each variety were vinified in 225-litre barriques.