Chateau Saint-Pierre 2016
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Dunnuck
Jeb - Decanter
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Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from 50-year-old vines and a blend of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, the 2016 Château Saint-Pierre (Saint-Julien) is in the same ballpark as the 2015 yet shows a slightly more elegant, classic feel, which is very much in the style of the vintage. Beautiful notes of crème de cassis, black raspberries, crushed rocks, tobacco, and lead pencil shavings as well as some smoky notes with time in the glass all flow to a deep, full-bodied, concentrated Saint-Julien that has fine tannin, flawless balance and integration, no hard edges, and a great finish. This brilliant wine from winemaker Jean-Louis Triaud will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and keep for 25-30 years.
Rating: 96+ -
Decanter
Highly coloured in the glass, with aromas of violets spiralling through. On the palate this is more bilberry and blueberry than tight cassis, with slate and bitter coffee ground notes. There's very little light peeking through the tannins at this stage, and again I get the architectural feel of a 2010. Monumental and extremely accomplished, this is easy to recommend, living up to its early promise. Matured in 50% new oak, with malo partly in barrel. Drinking Window 2024 - 2040
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Aged for 14 months in 50% new and 50% one-year-old French oak and blended of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc, the deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Saint-Pierre leaps from the glass with exuberant Black Forest cake, blackberry compote and cassis with hints of cigars, earth and violets with a waft of iron ore. Medium-bodied, the palate has a firm frame of grainy tannins with fantastic energy and depth, finishing on a lingering chocolaty note.
Rating: 94+ -
Wine Spectator
This is packed, with a ganache frame wrapping up a dense core of blueberry, black currant, fig and açaí berry reduction flavors that will need time to stretch out. While they do, they'll meld with the warm tar and sweet tobacco notes that line the fruit in spades. In the end, there's a plushness here that is distinct from St.-Julien's typically brambly grip. Best from 2025 through 2040.
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Wine Enthusiast
Ripe and fruity while also having just the right amount of structure, this is a concentrated wine. It has depth and fine, elegant acidity, and is likely to be ready from 2026.
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James Suckling
Some of the truffle, chocolate and earthy character of good Pomerol, plus a full, rather polished palate with plenty of fine tannins.
Other Vintages
2021- Decanter
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Dunnuck
Jeb -
Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert
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Parker
Robert -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine -
Enthusiast
Wine - Decanter
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Dunnuck
Jeb -
Parker
Robert -
Suckling
James - Decanter
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Spectator
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Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Enthusiast
Wine
- Decanter
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Dunnuck
Jeb -
Spectator
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert
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Dunnuck
Jeb -
Parker
Robert - Decanter
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Enthusiast
Wine
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Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert - Decanter
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Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Suckling
James
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Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine -
Suckling
James
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Parker
Robert -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine
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Parker
Robert -
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine -
Enthusiast
Wine
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Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
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Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
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Parker
Robert
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Parker
Robert
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Spectator
Wine
Today, with an average vine age of 50 years, the vineyard now covers 17 hectares, planted with 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. Enjoying a fantastic terroir of gravelly soil, below which lie sand and clay, the vines, in a double Guyot training system, produce an average of 45 hectoliters per hectare using a planting density of 10,000 vines per hectare. Jean-Louis Triaud has great ambitions and conducts a rigorous selection in order to achieve his goals of great wine. "The annual production of Saint-Pierre is about 90 tons, which, after strict selection, becomes only 50 tons, which in wine terms is the equivalent of 5,000 cases for the Grand Vin. My desire is to make exceptional wines worthy of the best Crus in the area. It is a challenge, but the potential is there and we provide the necessary means."
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.