Château Grand-Puy Ducasse 2016

Features a core of juicy plum and blackberry fruit, liberally inlaid with singed cedar details and chalky minerality. The fruit is solid, but the cedar element echoes longest on the finish, leaving this wine on the rustic side of the ledger. Best from 2023 through 2032. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 8,333 cases made.

Grand-Puy Ducasse continues to improve. Medium-bodied, floral with some leafy notes combined with blueberry and cassis fruit, supported by smoky, tobacco hints, there is enough density, smooth tannins and a dash of acidity to provide good value, classed-growth Pauillac drinking over the next decade. Not the most complex but fairly priced.

A medium-bodied and elegant Pauillac with fine, mixed-currant aromas, polished tannins and a lively finish. Drink or hold.

The 2016 Grand Puy Ducasse shows far better today than it did en primeur. Bold, racy and quite giving, the 2016 is a very pretty wine. Sweet red cherry, plum, spice, mocha and blood orange are all laced together. This is a decidedly racy, exotic style, and yet there is so much allure to the 2016 that it will be nearly impossible to resist young.

Flowers, tobacco, cigar box, espresso, and ripe, sweet, dark red berries are everywhere here. The wine delivers plenty of concentration, complexity, and character, and it will drink well for at least two decades. Plus, for a Pauillac at this level, it sells for a song. Drink from 2025–2045.

Deep dark ruby, opaque core, faintly lighter at the rim. Soft scents of cassis and liquorice, delicately smoky and savoury, as well as a hint of cedar wood. Juicy, freshly structured, well-integrated tannins, blackberry jam on the finish, subtle sweetness, good length.

Showing well in the vintage, the 2016 Château Grand-Puy-Ducasse offers a medium ruby color as well as medium-bodied notes of sweet cassis, saddle leather, and spice, with a subtle floral element developing with time in the glass. It’s pure, has fine tannins, and shows the more elegant, finesse-driven style of the vintage. It lags behind the top wines in the appellation yet has class and should keep for two decades or more.

Dark purple with a violet rim. Intensely spicy nose with heather and morello cherries, followed by rosewood and a hint of mountain pepper. Firm palate, powerful tannins, with a dense concentration of blue and black fruits on the finish. A formidable tannic structure to digest; once it settles, the higher score is within reach! 17.5/20

Kunz barrel sample 17: (60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot) Velvety, full, fruity bouquet of blackberry, black cherry, chocolate, mocha, smoke. Powerful, aromatic palate with fine-grained tannins, good fruit, finely muscular structure, dark aromatics, long, slightly bitter finish. Has room to improve.

(60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot) Velvety, full and fruity bouquet, blackberries, black cherries, chocolate, mocha, smoke. Powerful, aromatic palate with finely sandy tannins, good fruit, a finely muscular structure, dark aromatics, long, bitter finish. Can still improve. 17/20 2024 - 2038

The 2016 Grand-Puy-Ducasse is deep garnet in color. It needs a little coaxing to unveil notes of baked black plums, boysenberries, and crushed blackcurrants, plus hints of dried herbs, pencil lead, and tree bark. The medium-bodied palate is clean and crunchy, delivering pure black fruits and a chewy texture, finishing with a mineral lift.

Two samples were betrayed by their corks, showing cork-dust type noses; the third confirms the firmness and fullness observed in the tastings before bottling.

The 2016 remains solid, with a deep nose that needs air to reveal itself. On the palate, you find that compact character, abundant tannins, and structure—everything still needs time to come together.

Woody, spicy nose with dark fruits and toasted notes. Broad, deep, sappy palate with plenty of substance; the finish is still a bit firm.

A very fine definition of the bouquet, expressed with precision and finesse. It shows some candied nuances as well as spices and hints of blackberry. On the palate, the wine reveals impressive dimension. There is breadth, and you can clearly sense the work on the tannins, which have gained in precision and ability to integrate. They are powerful but not overbearing and support the wine perfectly. Only the finish still needs to gain in finesse, but let’s not forget it’s a 2016… it needs time!

The best ever made. Beautiful dark, intense color. Moderately aromatic nose, both fruity and spicy. Airy and silky on the attack, very much in line with the 2016s and their meticulous style, the wine develops as juicy and noble, delicate and perfumed. Lovely fruity length with notes of ink and pine wood, with no tannic edges. Pleasurable in its youth.

Coming from this vastly improved estate, this wine offers rich tannins, concentration, power and density. Blackberry flavors add a more immediately approachable side to this wine that should be ready to drink from 2024.