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| 2016 Bordeaux En Primeur: Château Pavie
& Château Angélus |
| | | As the current harvest comes to market, it is important to remember what made 2016 a uniquely extraordinary vintage. |
| The winter and spring saw heavy rains and cool temperatures that eventually gave way to a long, dry summer. From mid-June until mid-September, Bordeaux experienced drought-like conditions with several heat waves and virtually no precipitation. The intense heat coupled with the dry weather strained the vines, particularly allowing older vines with deeper roots to fully express themselves. Substantial diurnal temperature variation helped to retain acidity, and, finally, a brief shower fell in mid-September, refreshing the vineyards just in time.
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| | The warm and dry summer allowed for long, even ripening, particularly for the Cabernet Sauvignon that is the Médoc’s specialty. Wines in 2016 contain lower alcohols and showcase more acidity than in recent vintages, complementing their vibrancy, fruit, and structure. The 2016 vintage appears to challenge the historic 2005 and 2000 vintages for sheer complexity, concentration, balance, and ultimate ageability. As Mathieu Chardonnier of CVBG puts it,
“This is as good as Bordeaux gets.”
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| | What are the advantages to buying Bordeaux En Primeur?
Bordeaux's history of selling futures dates to at least the 17th century. Buying the new Bordeaux vintage as a future allows you to lock in the lowest available pricing for highly-allocated wines before they reach the rest of the market. Acquiring wines via this method also allows you to secure wine with the best possible provenance: once bottled, these pristine, just-released wines are shipped directly from Bordeaux to our warehouse. |
| | | | | | | | “This is more compressed and tighter than the 2015. It’s full-bodied, but very tight and focused. So linear and long. Love the gorgeous finesse. Goes on for minutes. All about finesse...new profile.” James Suckling 99-100 Points
“The 2016 Pavie is a blend of 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon cropped at 38 hectoliters per hectare between 10 and 20 October. The alcohol this year is 14.55%, and it is matured in 80% new oak and 20% one-year-old wood. As Gérard Perse explained, this is a Pavie that has taken stock and shifted in direction in recent years, reflecting more of its exceptional terroir instead of winemaking. It has a very intense bouquet that is extremely well-defined and shrugs off that higher alcohol level. You can find the graphite vein courtesy of the Cabernet Sauvignon and the underlying tension, while a second bottle had a soupçon more florality. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent, ripe, supple tannins that gently caress the mouth. It feels beguiling and charming, totally different in style compared to say Cheval Blanc, offering a more sensual take on the 2016 growing season. It is a very impressive follow-up to the 2015 Pavie and may surpass it once in bottle.” Wine Advocate 98-100 Points
“Seamless, sumptuous and super-expressive, the 2016 Pavie is a real head-turner. It will be years before the 2016 is ready to show all it's got. Even so, it is an absolutely stunning wine. The 2016 is 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, which is the most Franc that has ever gone into the Grand Vin. That gives the wine striking aromatic nuance to play off the exquisite, layered fruit. The 2016 is an exceptional wine by any measure. In a word: magnificent!” Vinous 97-100 Points
“This is a head-turner, with intense raspberry, cassis and boysenberry reduction notes pumping along, inlaid with a graphite edge and backed by waves of roasted apple wood, anise and fruitcake. Yet as large-scale as this is, it's still harnessed by a fine, chalky minerality through the finish. "Wow" wine” Wine Spectator 97-100 Points
“This is a restrained Pavie, elegant and with great fruit. The tannins are there but certainly not harsh or too dense. It has great blackberry fruit and beautiful tannins. It is perfumed and stylish, with a great future.” Wine Enthusiast 96-98 Points
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| | | | | | "...Then the good weather quickly returned. The tannins are ripening slowly and picking begins at the start of October for the grands vins. The cool nights have preserved the aromas and the acidity. The weather forecast for the coming two weeks lets us look forward to a calm harvest, picking as we wish, and allowing us to hope for and expect another great vintage at Angélus! A radiant vintage in the image of this three-month summer that fixed its destiny and shaped its identity." - Chateau Angélus
“This shows the purity of Angelus. I have never tasted a wine from here with such incredible clarity. Full body, full fruit and full beauty. Super silky tannins. A joy to taste. Makes you want to drink it. 62% merlot and 38% cabernet franc.” James Suckling 99-100 Points
“This wine is certainly structured, but it is the fruit that gives it its greatness. Beautiful ripe berries and plums burst from the glass. They are backed by ample tannins on the palate, as well as great acidity that gives the year its freshness. It is a very fine wine, packed with fruit and with everything it needs to age for many years.” Wine Enthusiast 97-99 Points
“The 2016 Angelus is a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc and 60% Merlot with much of the production zoning in on the more clayey soils that are ideal in a dry growing season like this. Picked from 4 to 21 October and matured entirely in new oak, it has a very intense bouquet with multilayered blackcurrant, blueberry and floral notes, very refined and precise, not unlike the 2010 in some ways, but I would argue this is more sophisticated. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, crisp acidity, symmetrical in terms of focus with just the right amount of sappiness on the saline finish. It is a superb Angelus from the de Boüard family, destined to give pleasure over many, many years. Once in bottle, I expect it to land towards the top of my banded scale.” Wine Advocate 96-98 Points
“One of the more surprising wines of the vintage, the 2016 Angélus shows a level of finesse that has not exactly been the norm here in recent years. Persistent and energetic on the palate, the 2016 Angélus boasts tons of nuance, with plenty of detail in all of its elements. A closing burst of Cabernet Franc-inflected floral and spice overtones give the wine an exotic flair. The 2016 is a fabulous Angélus. It's as simple as that.” Vinous 94-97 Points
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| We are also pleased to offer 2016 futures from the following Châteaux: |
| | | Be sure to inquire about availability as more wine is released from the Château |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Please Note :
Orders subject to confirmation
All allocations are secured with trusted négociants, with delivery anticipated in Spring 2018
All wines must be purchased in quantities of 6 or 12 Bottles (except in larger formats)
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Corporate Office
14201 Chambers Rd
Tustin CA 92780
USA
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Hong Kong Office
Room 1603, 16/F, Miramar Tower
Ruttonjee Centre
132 Nathan Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui
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Telephone: 949 748 4845
Fax: 949 567 1360
Email: Info@SpectrumWine.com
Hours: Mon - Fri 9:00am - 5:00pm
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