Château Les Grands Chênes 2016

A core of dark currant and raspberry fruit is sleek and fresh in feel, while a moderate dose of toast clings to the edges. A light iron hint adds to the finish. Drink now through 2026. 2,000 cases made.

Heavily extracted yet well made and carefully thought out. Black fruits are joined by liquorice and smoky bacon-tinged oak that dominates the palate but is undeniably appealing. It could let the light in a little more, but it has succulence and curb appeal, and I tasted it several times over primeurs week and always found it enjoyable.

Very attractive red fruit and spices with a background tarry edge that leads to a palate offering ample sweet fruit at first impression, bright acidity, and a long, fresh and flavorful finish of darker fruit. Try from 2021.

The 2016 Les Grands Chênes is perfumed and nicely lifted, with gorgeous floral and spice notes that perk up the red berry fruit nicely. Medium in body and quite gracious, the Grands Chênes is especially refined in this vintage. Crushed flowers, mint and spice note add character. The 2016 is far more refined from bottle than it was from barrel. In this tasting, it is pure class. Tasted two times.

Round and polished with loads of espresso, smoke, ripe fruits and a fleshy finish.

Kunz Barrel Sample 17: fruity, deep, herbal bouquet, black berries, fine woods. Powerful, good bourgeois-style palate with finely sandy tannins, spicy aromatics, muscular structure, herbal finish. (17/20). 22: René Gabriel: fairly dark wine-red with bluish reflections. An astonishingly approachable bouquet with blue fruit and finely floral to green-spicy Cabernet notes. On the palate already pleasantly round, offering wonderfully integrated tannins, finishing with a pleasant blackberry aroma. Fun for early enjoyment. And yet its drinking window will likely hold for a good twenty years. A great wine value – available for under twenty francs! 17/20 pending

Velvety, dark, fruity bouquet, plum, cassis, mocha, wood. Powerful, firm palate with dark, sweet fruit, a burly structure, good aromatics, and a long, bitter finish. Has room to improve. 16/20 2023 - 2038

Pleasant nose, delicately fruity and spicy; a straightforward, rounded palate with vigor and good length. Very well made, lively, balanced, and classic. A fine representation of the Médoc.

Nose of dark fruits, blueberry, floral, with a direct attack. Palate is fresh and fruity, long, with very elegant, enveloping tannins, and a long finish.

Garnet red with purple highlights. A delicate, elegant bouquet, ideally combining élevage and fruit character. Lush, compact attack. On the palate, for now, the wine struggles to reveal itself. It has powerful, compact, fine-grained tannins. The structure is also very present. To be continued; I found it more convincing during the en primeur tastings.

90–92. Barrel Sample. This ripe wine is full of great fruit aromas and flavors. The tannins are generous and rich, supported by rounded black-plum and -berry fruits. It should cellar well through the medium term.