2016 Charmail 6 Pack

92 POINTS

James Suckling

Blueberry and blackberry character with hints of stones and minerals. Medium to full body and firm and silky tannins. Wonderful tannin quality here.

91 POINTS

Neal Martin - Vinous

The 2016 Charmail has a generous bouquet with black cherries, boysenberry and discrete floral scents. The oak is nicely integrated here. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannin, a lovely bead of acidity, an impressive precision and persistence on the finish. This Charmail revels in a great Bordeaux vintage – wonderful. Tasted at the Cru Bourgeois tasting in London.

91 POINTS

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW - Wine Advocate

The 2016 Charmail is blended of 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 10% Petit Verdot aged for 12 months in roughly one-third each new, one-year-old and two-year-old French oak barrels. Deep garnet-purple in color, it delivers intense scents of crème de cassis, cedar chest and pencil lead with touches of yeast extract and menthol. Medium to full-bodied with a firm frame of chewy tannins and plenty of mint-laced fruit, it finishes just a little woody at this youthful stage but should dial that in beautifully with another year or two in bottle.

91 POINTS

Antonio Galloni MW - Vinous

The 2016 Charmail has turned out beautifully. Dark cherry, plum, bittersweet chocolate, leather, tobacco and spice give the 2016 notable richness and density. Powerful and very ripe in style, the 2016 has so much to offer. The 2016 is a big wine with tons of character and sheer personality.

90 POINTS

Roger Voss - Wine Enthusiast

Just north of Saint-Estèphe, this vineyard surrounds a turreted chateau. With a high percentage of Merlot in the blend, this wine has a spicy, juicy character that is given necessary freshness by acidity and crisp black-currant flavors. Drink from 2022.

Jane Anson - Decanter Magazine

A wine that can be shy in the early stages in certain vintages, but really comes out of itself in 2016. Oak dominates right now, although there is ripe cassis fruit underneath. They have made the slightly strange choice of having 100% new oak for the primeurs when the final wine will only have 33% - I have seen estates do this a few times this year and am not sure it's the best approach. Anyway, the overall impression is of luscious fruit with a kick of glamour, but I will need to restaste once bottled to see if that remains the case. A new blend this year, after buying a few new plots, of 40% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc and 8% Petit Verdot. The second vintage with Hubert de Bouard.

Richard Hemming MW - JancisRobinson.com

41% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, 11% Petit Verdot. Layers of rich black fruit on the nose, generous and chunky on the palate with chalky tannic texture and relatively low acid. Certainly the riper style of bordeaux, but not in a spoofy way, and the quality of flavours is appetising and savoury. Score: 16/20

Jancis Robinson MW

Bright dark crimson. Deep, dark nose with lots of hot cross bun spicy charm. Pretty sweet but well done, except that it's pretty dry and demanding on the end. Ambitious but you will have to wait! Score: 16.5/20