For Your Cellar – Bordeaux 2016 En Primeur

It is my favourite time of the year.

Since Bordeaux En-Primeur is a fairly antiquated idea, every year I wonder if its time has come. But for my 15th En-Primeur campaign I do still get a tingle of excitement. Especially because I believe 2016 will offer something special.

Why?

I’ve been lucky enough to drink great Bordeaux since the very start of my career. I’ve seen the great vintages, the bad vintages. And it is all pretty amazing.

What is En-Primeur?

Basically it is a vehicle for the wines to be sold 18 months in advance of bottling. Consequently the experts taste a representative sample of the final wines and pass judgement. The advantage of buying the wine now is as a guarantee you will get the wines you want. And when the wine is consumed 10, 20 or 30 years later the provenance will be known.

What Is Special About Bordeaux?

First and foremost the top level of wines are the greatest cellaring wines in the world. Pause for arguments. But it is true. For a quick introduction to the region you can read more here. The wines are expensive and demand long term cellaring. But after that time they are cool and elegant and hauntingly fragrant and you just want to have them.

Vintage 2016 En Primeur

You can view the current offer and then keep scrolling down to see what makes 2016 such a special vintage.

Please note:

• There is still a great deal of Chateaux to release their prices.
• The best way to to keep up to date with the releases is to register your interest.
• For advice or to just let me get you the best wines for your cellar either email or call  0418 23 04 82.
• These wines will not be available until 2019.

Bordeaux Vintage 2016

Two disasters that offset each other. The 2016 vintage can be boiled down to that simple point.

The start of the season saw Biblical rains that flooded vineyards and despair set in with the growers. As it turned out, all the rains were doing was building up reserves for the next stage.

A blistering drought followed. The soils that retain moisture excelled, the reserves they had equipped the vines with the armoury to serve the heat and lack of water. A quick few showers at the end of the growing season freshened everything up.

The result is a wonderful vintage that offers serious red Bordeaux and has thrown up a few value choices that you can drink or keep for the short term too.

Reds for the cellar The Northern Medoc faired very well. St-Estephe, Pauillac and St-Julien. The plateau of St-Emilion offers some outstanding wines and the top tier level Pomerol wines are well worth your time.

Reds to drink Some of the “lesser” appellations are offering beautiful wines, finely crafted and well priced. They will offer you beautiful drinking on release.

Whites and Sweet wines Certainly not vintage of the century but still offering fleshy, aromatic and younger drinking wines.

2016 is the perfect vintage to start your Bordeaux collection or add to it. Either way, act now to secure your selection as the great wines will disappear before you know it.