Château d'Issan 2016

La Revue du Vin de France

Wine Enthusiast

Andreas Larsson - Tasted

Perfumed and dark fruity expression with floral violet, crushed blackberry, tobacco and mocha notes. Nicely layered with plenty of ripe tannin, a fine hint of butterscotch, savoury dark fruit with cassis, sage, dark cherry notes and a long polished finish.

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2016 D'Issan is blended of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon and 36% Merlot, aged in 50% new and 50% one-year-old French oak for 18 months. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it has vibrant black cherries and blackcurrants notes with chocolate mint, beef drippings, black olives and cigar box. Medium-bodied with a well-sustained, intensely flavored mid-palate, it has a rock-solid, grainy frame and long savory finish. 10,500 cases produced.

Jeb Dunnuck

I loved the 2016 Château d'Issan and this is a certainly a wine to seek out. Made from a blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon and 36% Merlot from yields of 55 hectoliters per hectare, aged 18 months in 50% new oak, it has a beautiful perfume of blue fruits (cassis, blueberries, etc.) as well as hints of graphite, subtle oak, and charcoal. Medium to full-bodied, with integrated acidity, a terrific mid-palate, and perfect balance, it needs 4-5 years of bottle age and is going to cruise in good cellars for 20-25 years or more. It’s a beautiful, elegant, seamless wine that’s very much in the style of the vintage.

Decanter Magazine

Beautiful violet and lilac-tinted edging to the colour, a promising sign of a vibrant, balanced wine, and it absolutely delivers on the palate. This is so fresh and uplifting, it has fruit intensity balanced with a perfumed elegance. Over 80% of the vines at Issan are at least 20 years old, and many much older, so they coped very well with the dry summer. This is a lovely classic Margaux, sculpted with a core of fine tannins that promise excellent ageing. 64% Cabernet Sauvignon and 36% Merlot. Blending was finished in late January with consultant Eric Boissenot.

James Suckling

The brightness and precision already comes through on the nose with floral, blackcurrant character. Full-bodied and very tight and creamy with polished tannins that last for minutes. Warm and intense. Needs four to five years to show all it has, yet already a beauty.