2016 Angludet and Lynch-Moussas

27 Apr 2017

2016 Lynch-Moussas

It was chilly riding to work this morning but that's nothing compared to the frost that hit many French vineyards last night. Alexandre Thienpont at Vieux Chateau Certan reports that Pomerol felt like a war zone as vignerons fought to protect their budding vines with helicopters and fires (and fires caused trouble for this frost-fighting Marlow vigneron last night). The early assessment is that the grands chateaux avoided the worst; it is the poor petits chateaux who've taken the hit, with some looking at complete bud loss.

While we await the release of Neal Martin's scores tomorrow evening, a couple of delicious wines from family-owned properties in Margaux and Pauillac. Just after we sent our offer on Tuesday afternoon, the Sichels released their delicious 2016 Angludet. Benjamin Sichel sets out to make the best Margaux at the best possible price while maintaining the best environmental practices. The vineyards are sited on the homogeneous gravels that the chateau shares with the neighbouring grand crus and are farmed sustainably. Recent vintages have seen a move from a firm, tannic style to a more open-knit, expressive one, and the 2016 is a delight.

This morning, the enterprising Casteja family released their ever-improving Lynch-Moussas. For the second or third time, I thought I might prefer this to the family's more famous Batailley. I suspect the Batailley will ultimately surpass it, but I just love the cedar and cigar and graphite impressions, not to mention the fine tannins. It's an alluring, open-knit Pauillac which I think will give many of the more famous names a run for their money. /AR

Offered subject to remaining unsold; available 2019