2016 has proved itself as a beloved vintage from Bordeaux to Napa, Alsace to Lombardy, Cahors to Piemonte, and here we’ve made some selections out of our full selection of 2016 wines that we believe fully embody the magical nature of this vintage and the patient passing of time.
Valentin Zusslin ‘Grand Cru Pfingstberg’ 2016 Riesling, Alsace, France
Domaine Valentin Zusslin is a thirteenth generation family estate based in the village of Orschwihr in southern Alsace, run today by siblings Marie and Jean-Paul who converted the entire domaine to Demeter certified biodynamic farming in 1997, plowing by horse and carrying out all harvest and cellar work by hand. While the Grand Cru Pfingstberg’s 28 hectares of steep, southeast facing sandstone and marl soils are shared among several producers, Zusslin has chosen to dedicate their holding exclusively to Riesling. Whole cluster pressed and fermented with native yeasts before aging for up to two years in traditional large oval Alsatian oak casks, the 2016 was produced with small yields, resulting in a wine of remarkable concentration and vertical precision. A decade on it has blossomed into something deeply compelling, offering preserved lemon, white peach, chamomile, wet slate, and a flinty saline minerality that will definitely benefit from a bit of oxygen before imbibing.
Chateau Meyney St. Estephe 2016, Bordeaux, France
Château Meyney is one of Saint-Estèphe’s oldest and most consistently undervalued estates, its origins tracing back to a Cistercian priory founded in 1662 whose monks first planted vines on these gravelly, clay-subsoiled slopes flanked by the Second and Third Growth powerhouses of Montrose and Calon-Ségur. The modern chapter began in earnest when Hubert de Bouard of Château Angélus came on board as consulting oenologist in 2013, a move that catalyzed a remarkable quality leap across the estate’s subsequent vintages. The 2016 is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 10% Petit Verdot, harvested by hand and vinified in temperature controlled cement vats before aging for 18 months in 50% new French oak, widely hailed as the finest wine in the estate’s history and a benchmark example of what Saint-Estèphe is capable of in a great year. A decade on it has arrived at a deeply satisfying maturity, its once brooding tannins now woven seamlessly into layers of dark plum, blackcurrant, graphite, tobacco, that make the wine an unmistakable win for Bordeaux drinkers and lovers
Chateau Lamothe Bergeron Haut Medoc Cru Bourgeois 2016, Bordeaux, France
Château Lamothe Bergeron is a Cru Bourgeois Supérieur estate nestled between the appellations of Margaux and Saint-Julien in the Haut-Médoc, its gravelly soils and privileged position along the Gironde consistently producing wines that punch well above their classification and price point. A familiar face to us through his work with Philippe Gayral and their Vin Doux Naturels compiled under the name L’Archiviste, winemaker Charles Lemoine has brought both technical precision and ambition to the estate since taking the helm in 2020. The 2016 is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot, vinified in cement vats before aging for 12 months in French oak, a compelling demonstration of how generously 2016 performed even beyond the grand classified estates. A decade on it drinks with a supple, open generosity, its cassis, dark cherry, tobacco, and cedar beautifully integrated and the tannins long since settled into something approachable and deeply satisfying, a reminder that great Bordeaux need not cost a fortune.
Chateau du Cedre GC 2016, Cahors, France
Château du Cèdre is widely regarded as the benchmark estate of Cahors, the ancient appellation in southwest France that is the true ancestral home of Malbec, long before Argentina ever claimed the variety as its own. Brothers Pascal and Jean-Marc Verhaeghe, third generation custodians of their Belgian grandfather’s founding vision, have spent decades identifying the finest micro-terroirs within their 27 hectares certified organic vineyards. The GC, Pascal’s pointed challenge to the appellation authorities to recognize a Grand Cru classification, is sourced from 50 to 67 year old vines on the prized troisième terrasses, then aged for 27 months in a combination of 500 liter barrels and large oak casks. Ten years of bottle age have done wonderful things here, the wine’s dense blue black fruit, dark chocolate, violets, smoke, and crushed stone now woven into something of remarkable creaminess and depth, and for those drawn to what they find here, we are fortunate to hold mature labels from Château du Cèdre spanning the last two decades.
Domaine Bardi d’Alquier ‘La Maison Jaune’ Faugeres 2016, Languedoc, France
Domaine Bardi d’Alquier is one of Faugères’ most historic estates, its roots stretching back to 1870 when the Alquier family first began farming these wild, schist-rich hillsides at 340 meters above sea level in the heart of the Languedoc, with the current owners continuing the legacy with Jean-Michel Alquier remaining on as consultant. His deep admiration for Burgundy and Côte-Rôtie shaped an approach that transformed what was once considered a region of heavy, rustic reds into one of the Languedoc’s most refined and elegant iterations. La Maison Jaune, named for the yellow facade of the Alquier family home, is the estate’s most celebrated cuvée, a Grenache-led blend of 60-year-old old vine fruit alongside Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Carignan from the parcel known as Charlot, aged to develop the intense perfume and silky texture the wine is renowned for. That reputation for power and weight feels like a distant memory in this glass, the 2016 having settled into something unexpectedly graceful, its dark cherry, mulberry, licorice, wild thyme, and cacao framed by supple integrated tannins and a long savory finish; we recommend decanting slowly to clear any sediment and serving in a generous Bordeaux glass to let the wine breathe fully.
Bénédicte & Stéphane Tissot En Spois Vin Jaune 2016, Jura, France
Bénédicte and Stéphane Tissot need little introduction to our readers, having featured prominently in our pages before, but their Vin Jaune represents a category of wine so singular and so deeply rooted in the Jura’s ancient traditions that it deserves its own moment of reverence. Vin Jaune’s origins trace back to historic Spanish influence in the region, which explains its striking similarities to Sherry in its oxidative character, its flor yeast aging, and its profound saline and nutty complexity. Tissot is the only producer in Jura to vinify their Vin Jaunes separately by individual plot, a pioneering decision we witnessed firsthand during a visit to the estate last autumn where we tasted through their entire compendium of cuvées. En Spois is sourced from a one hectare parcel of Savagnin planted in 1933 on Triassic clay soils, spending a minimum of six years aging sous voile in old 228 liter barrels as nearly a third of its volume evaporates into the cellar air, concentrating everything that remains into the distinctive 620ml clavelin bottle that Vin Jaune alone uses. What greets you in the glass now is something almost otherworldly, its roasted hazelnut, dried pear, curry spice, beeswax, leather, and saline minerality still building and evolving in ways that will continue to reward patience for decades to come.
Matthiasson ‘Napa Red Wine’ 2016, Napa Valley, California, USA
Steve and Jill Matthiasson are, in our view, among the most important and singular voices in American wine today, a husband and wife team who founded their eponymous Napa estate in 2003 after decades of combined expertise in sustainable agriculture and vineyard consulting for some of California’s most prestigious addresses including Araujo and Stags Leap. Where much of Napa has chased power, extraction, and the commercial interests that come with them, Matthiasson has consistently moved in the opposite direction, picking three to four weeks earlier than most of his neighbors, farming entirely organically, paying sustainable and equitable wages to all of his full time staff, and making wines of remarkable restraint, precision, and food friendliness that feel closer in spirit to the great European classics than to the California mainstream. The 2016 Napa Red is a blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, partially and spontaneously co-fermented in small open top tanks for seamless integration, and aged for 20 months in 50% new French oak at a modest 13.5% alcohol. With a decade now behind it, this is a wine that has only grown more compelling with time, its black plum, tamarind, graphite, hemp, crushed stone and fine grained tannins settling into something of real elegance and length that is unlike anything else you’ll drink from California
Collemattoni Brunello di Montalcino Riserva ‘Vigna Fontelontano’ 2016, Tuscany, Italy
Collemattoni is a small, dedicated family estate in Montalcino, founded by Adon Bucci and now stewarded by his son Marcello, whose commitment to organic farming across their 11 hectares of Sangiovese Grosso was formally certified for the first time with the 2016 vintage. The Vigna Fontelontano, named for an ancient water source that once served the surrounding community, is the estate’s oldest and most prized parcel, less than half a hectare planted in 1984, from which the Riserva is produced only in the finest vintages. Fermented in stainless steel with extended skin maceration before aging for 36 months in 500 liter French oak barrels and a further 18 months of bottle rest, it is one of the few single vineyard Brunello Riservas in the entire denomination. Released after years of patient aging, the wine now reveals the full splendor of great Sangiovese, its sour cherry, crushed dried oregano, tobacco, cassis, and licorice root interwoven with softened yet textural tannins that last lengthily across the palate.
Fiorenzo Nada ‘Seifile’ 2016, Piedmont, Italy
Nada Fiorenzo is a four generation family estate based in the Rombone hamlet of Treiso, one of Barbaresco’s most elevated and celebrated communes, whose journey from grape growers to one of the Langhe’s most admired producers began in earnest in 1982 when Bruno Nada convinced his father Fiorenzo to bottle their own wines rather than sell to local merchants. Today the estate is guided by fourth generation Danilo, whose focus on lowering yields and raising quality has cemented Nada’s reputation as one of the benchmarks of modern Barbaresco. The Seifile, whose name translates simply as “six rows” in reference to the small number of Nebbiolo rows that punctuate the parcel, is an 80% old vine Barbera and 20% Nebbiolo blend from vines planted eighty years ago on calcareous clay soils, a tribute to the traditional blended wines of the Langhe that predate the denomination’s modern era. Now in its tenth year, the wine has blossomed with bright Barbera acidity that has preserved freshness with dark fruit and spiced richness of grilled plum, angostura bark, and star anise interwoven with Nebbiolo’s signature elemental flavors of tar, dried rose, red currant, and black truffle.
Ar.Pe.Pe Grumello ‘Buon Consiglio’ Riserva 2016 & Ar.Pe.Pe Sassella ‘Rocce Rosse’ Riserva 2016
Named for founder Arturo Pelizzatti Perego whose initials gave the winery its name, Ar.Pe.Pe is the undisputed benchmark of Valtellina, a fifth generation family estate perched between the Alps just south of the Italian-Swiss border where Nebbiolo, known locally as Chiavennasca, produces some of Italy’s most hauntingly beautiful and age-worthy wines from impossibly steep terraced vineyards. Today siblings Isabella, Emanuele, and Guido Pelizzatti Perego continue their father Arturo’s legacy with unwavering commitment to extended maceration, long aging in large chestnut and Slavonian oak casks, and a refusal to release wines before they are genuinely ready, producing Alpine Nebbiolo that Antonio Galloni has described as leaving “lovers of translucent Nebbiolo weak at the knees.” The Grumello Buon Consiglio, sourced from a vineyard directly above the family’s historic cellars at 350 to 400 meters, is Isabella’s own description of the estate’s most gentle and immediately expressive cru, its name derived from a nearby religious kiosk bearing a painting of the Madonna del Buon Consiglio. Aged in large format casks and rested in bottle for years before release, the 2016 is singing right now with translucent red cherry, dried violet, alpine herbs, and a Pinot Noir-like delicacy that masks the wine’s extraordinary structural depth. The Sassella Rocce Rosse takes its name from the iron-rich pinkish rocks that define this higher, craggier section of the Sassella subzone at 400 to 500 meters, where thinner soils and greater altitude push the Chiavennasca to its most concentrated and mineral extreme, with 97 days of skin maceration and 34 months of wood and cement aging producing a wine of far greater austerity and power than its Grumello sibling. Time has been generous to this bottle, its blood orange, dried cinnamon, tanned leather, and crushed stone now knitting together into something of formidable complexity and length that will continue to unfold for years to come.
Excited by the sound of any of these bottles above? Looking to enjoy these and more wines with some age on them? Don’t hesitate to reach out to us by emailing marketing@winegarage.asia or by placing an order directly by emailing order@winegarage.asia
