On Wednesday, Jancis Robinson and Julia Harding MW published a joint tasting report on the Bordeaux 2016 vintage in bottle. The report covers the 138 wines tasted at the Union des Grand Crus in London earlier in October.
In the report, Robinson wrote that her and Harding “shared the wines more or less equally with [Robinson] responsible for the Right Bank this time”.
Jancis Robinson – Right Bank
When describing the wines from the Right Bank, Robinson noted that she “was heartened to see that St-Emilions, even those that were a bit unappetisingly exaggerated in the past, continue to lighten and freshen up. Some of them are even positively refreshing nowadays!”
Robinson added that “Canon, Figeac and Grand Mayne notably, with some others, are making quite a different style of wine from what they produced in the 1990s”.
Julia Harding MW – Left Bank
In her section of the report, Harding commented: “Of the Left Bank wines I tasted, the Pessac-Leognan reds shone most brightly, retaining their archetypal fragrance but also achieving greater richness and a little more generosity than in some vintages”.
Harding went on to say that “Haut Bailly, which is often slightly reclusive at this early stage, was the star for me and yet still promises to have a very long life”. In her tasting note, she described the wine as “one of the best Haut Baillys I have tasted” and awarded it 18 points.
Top scorers – Pichon Baron and Figeac
Overall, the top-scoring wines from the vintage were Pichon Baron and Figeac. Both wines received 18.5 points from Robinson. In her tasting note, she commented that the Pichon Baron has “a winning formula here” and added: “What the heck is not to like?!”
For Figeac, Robinson commented that the wine was “definitely not forcing itself on you but the fruit (and yeast?) seem rather wild in a good way”. She went on to say that it was “really very fine and characterful – rather than made to a recipe”.
Robinson and Harding’s top-scoring wines can be found in the table below. You can read the full report at JancisRobinson.com, here.
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