Chateau Capbern 2016

Professional Ratings

• 94 Jeb Dunnuck
  Made by the stellar team at Calon Ségur, the 2016 Château Capbern is fabulous stuff that readers should snatch up. Based on 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot raised in 60% new French oak, this deeply colored Saint-Estèphe offers textbook crème de cassis, lead pencil shavings, crushed tobacco leaf, and damp earth. Deep, medium to full-bodied, concentrated, with fine tannins and everything in the right places, it’s going to benefit from short-term cellaring and keep for upwards of two decades.
• 93 James Suckling
  Very pretty fruit with dark berries, plums and currants. Hints of sweet tobacco. Medium bodied, firm and silky. Lovely, juicy finish with delicious acidity at the end. The 18 per cent of fabulous cabernet franc in this makes it special. Hard not to drink now, but better in 2023.
• 93 Wine Enthusiast
  Although this wine is dense, it already has a charm to its richness and structure. That comes from the relatively high proportion of Merlot in the blend as well as the juicy fruit of the Cabernet. Made by the team of Calon-Ségur, the wine will develop relatively quickly, and should be ready to drink from 2023.
• 92 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  The 2016 Capbern is a blend of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot aged for 18 months in 60% new and 40% one-year-old oak. Deep garnet-purple colored, it leaps from the glass with cedar, blackberries and blueberries with wafts of tobacco, bay leaves and scorched earth. Medium to full-bodied, elegant and vibrant in the mouth, it possesses lovely poise and an earthy finish.
• 91 Wine Spectator
  A core of gently mulled plum and blackberry fruit is infused with perfumy bay and tobacco notes, while a light alder hint weaves through the finish. Some sneaky grip too, so while accessible, this has a few years of life ahead.
• 90 Decanter

  Quite tannic in expression – and a contrast to the more ‘modern’-style estates. Fine mid-palate grip; compared to the 2010, which was also tasted, the 2016 comes across a bit more precise, showing cleaner fruit on the mid-palate, even if the 2016 does convey some earthiness. Drinking Window 2020 - 2028