| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > St Julien |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
This wine is made by the Ducru Beaucaillou team from vines situated inland near Talbot and Lagrange.
This is very linear and refined with tight-grained tannins and blackberry and blackcurrant character. Shows such finesse and beauty. One of best from here in a long time.
The 2016 Lalande-Borie is deep garnet-purple colored, offering up cassis, earth and spice box on the nose with touches of kirsch and tea. The palate is medium-bodied, firm and grainy with nice vibrancy. Drink date 2019 - 2029.
55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Sauvignon aged in 33% new oak. 3.67pH. This wine is packed with generous fruits and some lovely, deep tannins that are both flexible and fresh. The vines for this wine are 13ha on the western side of the appellation near La Mouline river, made up of sandy soils with extremely fine gravels. Again, this shows that you can find quality and value at every level in St-Julien in 2016.
Drinking Window 2025 - 2038
Rich and very lively on the nose. Real freshness and raciness. Beautiful wine! Really vibrant and rich. But with masses of energy. Just very slightly dry on the end. But such a charmer! GV 13.66%
Drink 2021-2030
Deep ruby-purple in colour. Plummy cassis shines through on the nose with sweet vanilla and a hint of nutmeg. The palate is fleshy and rounded, with plush black fruits and slick, fine-grained tannins providing a seamless texture. Juicy and moreish, with a hint of graphite underneath the sweet spices adding restraint and balance. Sumptuous and soft on the finish - ready to drink now, or over the next 10 years.
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. Drink 2019-2039.
The fruit is ripe the nose has depth the palate a rich mix of black fruits. The mid palate has a balancing freshness bramble under the firmer black cherry and although sweet at the back the finish lighter and fresh. 2025-39
Sourced from the western part of the vineyard at Ducru-Beaucaillou, this is serious, concentrated stuff: “our most powerful yet”, says Bruno Borie. Plush, oaky and compact with lots of fine, but dense tannins and a refreshing finish that arrives late on the palate. 2022-30
The 2016 Lalande-Borie is a blend of 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, delivering 13.66% alcohol and matured in 30% new oak and the remainder oneyear old. There is something almost clinical about the nose, very pure, no frills (at the moment), hints of crushed violet emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, very harmonious and cohesive, citrus-like freshness from start to finish with a long and velvety blueberry and blackberry finish. This is very polished and it should give plenty of drinking pleasure for several years. Drink 2021 - 2035.
What should be a step up over the 2015, the 2016 Château Lalande-Borie is an outstanding barrel sample based on 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Sauvignon. Its perfumed bouquet of cassis, violets, mineral and background oak is followed by a medium-bodied, nicely concentrated 2016 that has ripe tannin and notable acidity. It’s a pretty, balanced, concentrated Saint-Julien that will need 4-5 years of bottle age and keep for two decades. 2022 - 2042
