The Brilliance of 2016 Bordeaux: Now In Stock
“2016 is a fantastic, sublime and at times entrancing vintage. For once, the frothing hype that presaged en primeur was justified. The 2016 vintage already feels haloed.” —Neal Martin
Back in the Spring of 2017, we were not quiet about the fact that we thought we had something special on our hands with the 2016 vintage En Primeur. Back in late 2018, we were not shy about how incredible the 2016s were looking in bottle. Now they’re here, and they’re just as remarkable as they’ve always been, and now is the time to experience these brilliant wines for yourselves.
When considering the region’s greatest modern vintages, the list includes hits such as 2005, 2009, and 2010. Some would also include 2000 and 2015. But no matter whom you ask, when any major critic hand-picks the cream of the crop, 2016 will undoubtedly make the list. It is that elite, that essential, and that dynamic.
“My God, there are wines so perfumed that you could just sit and nose the glass all day…. The delineation and precision are sometimes remarkable.” —Neal Martin
So, why are they so good, you might ask? It is the perfect culmination of ideal growing conditions that starts it off. But it is also a vintage that has the benefit of the depths to which the Bordelaise have mastered their technique and terroir. Instead of striving for ripeness and extract, the focus on the 2016s is instead on the quality of the tannins, elevated aromatics, and a sense of refinement where abundance once reigned supreme.
“2016 is the most consistently great year since 2009 and 2010, both at the top of the market and in terms of good value wines.” —Lisa Perotti-Brown
It is also a vintage which probably contains the most depth of quality in recent history. 2009 is probably the closest comparison, where the values of the vintage were as exciting as the high-end collectibles. And while the pinnacles of other banner vintages can sometimes rival the best of 2016, it is hard to find a classically styled Bordeaux vintage with as much range at every price point. There is no doubt in our minds that the region has rarely seen such great wines at the sub-$50 range as we have in 2016.
“Certainly, balance, fruit concentration, structure and precision bode well for a return on patience, though the aforementioned finer tannins have unquestionably resulted in more approachable wines” —Neal Martin
So why now? If we’ve been offering these wines for nearly three years now, why go big at this point in the campaign? For many, this is the best time to experience the wines. They’re all here, in-stock, and we have a nearly unrivaled selection of some of the greatest wines. It is also a buyer’s market—without the short-term speculation of Robert Parker in the collectible wine market, there’s more of a chance to get your hands on the best of the best. 96-point sub-$50 reds used to be only for the few sharp buyers who were speculating for the long term. Now? They are at your fingertips.
But the other “why now” is just as important. We’re at an inflection point between having these wines, and watching them fly out the door. For many collectors, myself included, there’s always an instinct to make sure I add them to my cellar when they arrive, especially at close-to-release pricing. But they’ll be gone before you know it. Trust me, I’ve done this with too many vintages to count, and what I have taken the time to squirrel away from previous banner vintages has rarely disappointed.
“The best 2016s are powerful, richly layered, vibrant and stunningly beautiful, not to mention incredibly delicious and alluring. For so many wines and estates, 2016 is an epic vintage.” -Antonio Galloni
You can say the same “gone before you know it” things about the top collectibles of 2016. When the 100-point Pontet-Canet landed a few weeks back, we sold out in no time (don’t worry, there’s more on the way). Same thing for Wine Spectator’s #1 Wine of the Year 2016 Léoville Barton (ditto). That said, there’s still stock of 100-pointers including the already-legendary 2016 Mouton-Rothschild, a simply breathtaking 2016 Léoville-Las Cases, an under-the-radar gem in 2016 Figeac. And for those savvy, high-end buyers, we have names like Lynch Bages, La Mission Haut-Brion, and Cheval Blanc that easily rival their ’09/’10 counterparts at a much sharper price.
“For me, it is totally unique—an exciting new chapter for Bordeaux’s greatest vintages.” —Lisa Perotti-Brown
When we tasted the wines early on, we bet big on the fact that 2016 Bordeaux was destined to be among a small handful of truly special and unique vintages of the past two decades. Now that they’re in-stock, that bet is paying off big time for our clients. The wines have proved themselves again and again, and we can’t wait to share them. For anybody collecting the best in Bordeaux, or looking for truly rewarding collectibles from anywhere in the world, this is one to taste early and buy big. Even if you bought En Premieur, scaling up on 2016s might be an even sharper move. Either way, there’s little doubt that any cellar full of these wines will be one that belongs to a collector who will be thrilled with what they have over the years to come.
- Ryan Moses