Quinault l'Enclos 2016

Round and very fruity with some spice and cumin. Much better balanced than it used to be when aged in new oak and heavily extracted, though some sandpaper tannins on the end. Just a little bitter on the end.Drink 2023-2035

Another fresh, pretty wine from the team at Cheval Blanc, the 2016 Château Quinault l'Enclos has nuanced notes of black cherries, blackberries, leafy herbs, and saddle leather. Medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced and seamless on the palate, with terrific purity, it will benefit from just a handful of years in the cellar. Drink 2021-2036.

The black fruits on the nose are slightly dominated by oak the start of the palate is sweet some rich fruit but there is an underlying freshness lighter at the back. The finish has depth ripe fruit with a hint of spicy oak. 2025-35

This LVMH-owned Château, run by the Cheval Blanc team, is in a rich vein of form right now. Grassy, floral and very elegant, its 2016 is a subtle, nuanced wine with polished tannins and palate-cleansing acidity. Every bit as good as the 2015 2025-32

This was the first vintage that technical director Pierre-Olivier Clouet started to exclusively use 500-liter barrels for Quinault l'Enclos, decreasing the surface area to which the wines are exposed and, ultimately, the impact of the oak. The percentage of new oak is around 50%, and the blend is 68% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Cabernet Franc. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Quinault l'Enclos opens with expressive redcurrants, black raspberries and black cherries scents with savory suggestions of tapenade, dried herbs and tobacco plus a waft of cloves. Medium-bodied, the palate is fantastically bright and lively with loads of red fruit accents and a firm frame of grainy tannins, finishing on an earthy note.

The 2016 Quinault l'Enclos is a blend of 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc and 68% Merlot, continuing the team's program of increasing the proportion of Cabernet, picked from 20 September and finishing on 7 October. It is matured in 50% new oak (500-liter barrels) and one-year-old barrels. It has a very pure bouquet with macerated black cherries, a touch of blueberry, a subtle flinty note just tucked underneath. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin on the entry. This feels very fresh and lively in the mouth, perhaps a little more compact than others I tasted, although that is probably because it had been taken from barrel less than an hour before my visit. It is very precise on the brisk, punctual graphite-tinged finish, an almost clinical Quinault l'Enclos that will benefit from five or six year aging in bottle.Drink Date 2023 - 2045

A very fine bead of tannin runs through the entirety of this wine. Medium to full body, fresh acidity and a juicy finish. Polished. Straight and firm.