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01/06/2017

En Primeur Latest Releases

by Giles Cooper (Head of Marketing & PR)
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The startling 2016 Mouton Rothschild was released this morning but, even with our considerable allocations (and the full volume released in one tranche), we do not have enough to offer generally. We will do our best to cover all pre-orders and long-standing Mouton buyers. The demand is hardly surprising: we described the Mouton 2016 as “a show stopper” and frankly the longer we lingered over the glass, the more this felt like an understatement. Collectively we felt it was the finest Mouton we have tasted from barrel and the finished wine really could go on to be the best Mouton ever.

Also available is their white wine Aile d’Argent at GBP 648 – one of the better whites of the campaign in our view.

We are working separately on Petit Mouton and will update you when we have a clearer idea of what will be available to offer.

There have been a number of other releases today:

Lafon Rochet have certainly outperformed their 2015 and certainly made one of their best ever wines – this is available at GBP 408.

Likewise the ambitious estate of Pedesclaux have shown a significant shift in quality and their 2016 is available at GBP 396.

The compelling St Emilion Troplong Mondot was also released this morning. At GBP 1200 it’s undoubtedly at the pricey end but there is no denying the quality; whilst it carries a little more alcohol than some of its peers, it does so with considerable grace and we were not alone in being exceedingly impressed with it. If the high-scoring 2009 and 2010 are already on your cellar, or the imply massive alcohol levels of this previous style is too much for you, then give consideration to the beautiful 2016.

This afternoon kicked off with Canon and Rauzan Segla.

As one might imagine, Canon was again heavily oversubscribed (indeed we had to close pre-orders around a fortnight ago) and as such is Sold Out.

Chateau Canon

Rauzan Segla is in our view almost as spectacular but has marginally more distance to grow, and as such we have stock available at GBP 735. This is a wine of huge charm which is absolutely worth your serious consideration.

Winemaker Nicolas Audebert, who is also responsible for the great Chateau Canon in St Emilion (with whom Rauzan Segla shares its owners – the Wertheimer brothers of Chanel fame), can do no wrong, having produced four mind-boggling wines in just two years. However as with so many estates, the 2016 Rauzan Segla is markedly different to its predecessor; the sheer movie-star glamour of the 2015 is replaced in 2016 by a more considered style. The ultra-fine, mineral-stacked nose belies a structure which perfectly frames a fabulously pretty, detailed fruit profile.

Then this afternoon we saw the arrival of the wonderful Grand Puy Lacoste, a BI favourite and one of the most consistently over-performing estates in the whole of Bordeaux. Their spellbinding 2016 has now been released at GBP 734 and this is one wine you do not want to miss. Neal Martin too has long been a fan – “Readers will know that I hold Grand Puy Lacoste up as the bastion of quintessential Pauillac” – and, with 95-97pts, this 2016 outscores both the 2009 and 2010.

This is just a truly brilliant, honest wine that comes highly recommended. If you had to buy just one wine in 2016, this would be it...