Chateau Cantemerle 2016

Chateau Cantemerle, 5eme Grand Cru Classe Haut Medoc, Bordeaux, France, 2016

Grapes: A blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot, 90ha vineyard on silica/gravel soil, 35 year old vines, hand picked, 12 months in French oak barrels (40% new)

Producer Tasting Note:

Swirling this wine in the glass brings forth a very complex bouquet, the hallmark of a great wine. In the mouth, the first impression is both powerful and elegant, with rich flavors covering the palate. All the usual aromas of this wine—tobacco, black currant, cloves and a woodiness typical of ripe Cabernet—are present in a subtle register which will become more prominent with time. The tannins are very supple, lingering elegantly on the finish. At this stage of its development the wine is characterized by a delicate charm. This promising wine offers a typical illustration of the Cantemerle terroir. Very classic, it calls for some time in a decanter before serving. A further two or three years in the cellar can bring out its lovely personality, but it will continue to improve for an even longer time thanks to the nature of the great 2016 vintage

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"Sweet fruit on the nose is joined by plum and touches of vanillin. It has a southern Médoc feel, with almost-jammy fruit and a gourmet, damson streak. Edgy tannins hold the appealing, generous fruit, and the acidity is pretty high, but that’s a signature of the vintage. A blend of the two Cabernets, Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot, aged for 12 months in oak, 40% new. Eric Boissenot consults." Drink 2024 – 2040

93/100 points, Jane Anson. Decanter.com, October 2018

"Floral and perfumed nose with ripe dark fruit, classic notes of cassis, plum, black cherry with fine oak and leather. The palate is dense with good volume and a polished texture, ripe tannin, very fluid and digest already with layers of ripe dark fruit, fine tobacco and a long sustained finish."

93/100 points, Andreas Larsson - Tasted

During the Middle Ages, Château Cantemerle was part of a line of fortifications defending the shores of the Médoc around one kilometre from the present château. The first record of wine-growing on the estate dates back as far as 1354, when the Lord of Cantemerle paid the dime tax with a barrel of claret. In 1892, Château Cantemerle came into the hands of the Dubos family who sold it in 1981, nearly one century later, to SMABTP (Mutuelles d’Assurance du Bâtiment et des Travaux Publics), marking the arrival of major institutional investors on the winemaking scene in France. Declared a Cru Classé in 1855, Château Cantemerle’s vineyards are planted on gravelly soil along the Gironde estuary.