Chateau Lalande-Borie 2016
- Decanter
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Wine
Spectator -
James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Jeb
Dunnuck
Product Details
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Inky in colour and with intense cassis flavours joined by olive paste notes, this has a gorgeous, balanced feel. It needs to be carafed for an hour or two if you are looking to drink it soon, although the tannins are already silky and the concentration on display is pretty seductive. Great stuff, with a menthol blast on the finish, just brilliant value for money. It stands out among the Lalande-Borie vintages and this has got to be the best buy of the lineup. Drinking Window 2021 - 2038
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Wine Spectator
Vivid and racy cassis, blueberry puree and damson plum coulis flavors show serious cut and drive, while mouthwatering bramble and sweet tobacco notes fill in. Best from 2023 through 2036.
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James Suckling
Attractive, ripe cabernet fruit on the nose, this has aromas of blackberries and blueberries with a dark, slate-like, stony edge. The palate is very succulent and has good intensity of purple berries and assertive, grainy tannins that really power into the finish. This is a great value 2016 St.-Julien. Try from 2023.
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Wine Enthusiast
This elegant, balanced wine offers both great structure and also black-currant fruits. The dry core indicates the potential of this wine with its ripe flavors and great freshness at the end.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Another winner from the genius of Bruno Borie, the 2016 Lalande-Borie is a wine savvy readers should seek out. My money is on it being the best to date, and it also shows how successful Saint-Julien was in 2016. Offering loads of pure cassis, violets, and sappy herb aromas and flavors, this beauty is all elegance and purity on the palate, with fine tannins, medium to full-bodied richness, impressive depth of fruit, and a great finish. It’s drinkable today and will be drinkable in 15-20 years as well. The blend is 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Sauvignon raised in 30% new French oak.
Other Vintages
2015-
James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator -
Jeb
Dunnuck
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Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling
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Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling
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James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator -
Wine
Enthusiast
Today, it is the Jean Eugene Borie company which belongs to Mrs. Borie and her daughter Sabine Coiffe and son Bruno-Eugene, which runs Chateau Lalande-Borie and Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou. It only took Chateau Lalande Borie a couple of years to acquire a great reputation.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
An icon of balance and tradition, St. Julien boasts the highest proportion of classed growths in the Médoc. What it lacks in any first growths, it makes up in the rest: five amazing second growth chateaux, two superb third growths and four well-reputed fourth growths. While the actual class rankings set in 1855 (first, second, and so on the fifth) today do not necessarily indicate a score of quality, the classification system is important to understand in the context of Bordeaux history. Today rivalry among the classed chateaux only serves to elevate the appellation overall.
One of its best historically, the estate of Leoville, was the largest in the Médoc in the 18th century, before it was divided into the three second growths known today as Chateau Léoville-Las-Cases, Léoville-Poyferré and Léoville-Barton. Located in the north section, these are stone’s throw from Chateau Latour in Pauillac and share much in common with that well-esteemed estate.
The relatively homogeneous gravelly and rocky top soil on top of clay-limestone subsoil is broken only by a narrow strip of bank on either side of the “jalle,” or stream, that bisects the zone and flows into the Gironde.
St. Julien wines are for those wanting subtlety, balance and consistency in their Bordeaux. Rewarding and persistent, the best among these Bordeaux Blends are full of blueberry, blackberry, cassis, plum, tobacco and licorice. They are intense and complex and finish with fine, velvety tannins.