This was the first wine we tasted with Mr Florent Fresse, export manager of Mouton Rothschild, during a staff training seminar. The 2016 Chateau d'Armailhac was a very high level to begin with, and I was very impressed by the streamlined cassis, great acidity and all-around high quality of this Bordeaux. It is composed of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. It is located between Pontet-Canet and Mouton in the northern part of Pauillac. Florent compared the 2016 vintage to 1986 and thinks that it is the best d’Armailhac that they have ever made. It is quite young, and I hope to try it again on its 10th birthday!

My personal favorite among the wines we tasted at Chateau Mouton-Rothschild this year, possibly the finest d'Armailhac I have ever tasted. The wine makes an immediate impression in the mouth, demonstrating obvious class and polish. It is rich and lushly textured with generous ripe, sweet black fruits but retains great freshness and a very moderate 13.4% alcohol. Cabernet Sauvignon takes the lead here at nearly two-thirds (62%) of the blend. The remainder is mostly Merlot (28%), with smaller amounts of Cabernet Franc (8%) and Petit Verdot (2%). In 2016, the extremely dry conditions that prevailed throughout the mid to late summer and early fall yielded a crop of small, thick-skinned berries. Fair but cooler weather in autumn with warm days and cool nights meant that the grapes could be picked at the peak of ripeness and maturity. The result is a wine of great intensity and depth of color, and tannin levels that rival even the vaunted 2010 vintage but are much finer overall. This is classic Pauillac, as good as it gets – big, brash, self-assured – but with a warm and friendly manner that puts you immediately at ease. If this wine were running for office, it would definitely have my vote.

Tasted three times and it was consistently good each time. I love this wine in 2016. Intense Asian spice with blackberry undertones on the nose. So sweet and sexy on the palate. Very sweet finish-round tannins. Thoroughly enjoyable. Much better than their 2015.