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Monbousquet 2016

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyMerlot

Always one of the most concentrated and "mondiale" style wines of Saint Emilion. Monbousquet was the first vineyard purchased by Chateau Pavie owner Gerard Perse back in 1993. The 32 hectares are planted with 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.

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Label

Tasting Notes

The 2016 Monbousquet has a very attractive bouquet offering copious dark cherry and boysenberry fruit, light floral scents and hints of undergrowth. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins, quite tertiary in style and needing just a little more flesh toward the finish. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. 2022 - 2036

89+
Neal Martin, vinous.com, August 2020

A soft and very silky Monbousquet with wonderfully caressing texture. Full body. Delicious crushed cherries and berries. Beautiful length, too. Hard not to drink now. Better after 2024.

96
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (227), February 2019

This is still in full Monbousquet extraction mode, even though they have changed the grape blend to 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. They are clearly looking at introducing a more sculpted, fresh feel. The terroir is an early-ripener which meant the heat will have been difficult, and this is a little heavy. 70% new oak, 3.65pH.
Drinking Window 2027-2050

89
Jane Anson, Decanter.com, April 2017

Very dark purple. Rich, red fruits taken to the limit. Raspberry jam initially but rescued by freshness on the end. Great drama and a bit of alcohol on the end. Stylistically Perse rather than St-Émilion but well-done tarry end. 14.6%
Drink 2025-2040

17
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2017

As to the red, I was blown away by the 2016 Château Monbousquet. This classic, elegant vintage plays fabulously well at this address. Beautiful blackcurrants, cassis, gravelly minerality, and chocolate all emerge from this full-bodied Saint-Emilion that has another level of purity and elegance over every other vintage I’ve tasted. It delivers loads of pleasure today and will do the same in 15 years as well. Bravo! Drink 2019-2034.

95
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, March 2019

The nose is tight the start of the palate firm with a mix of black and red fruits. Richer in the middle the fruit is sweet the tannins firm but not drying less over extraction with sweet fruit coming through on the finish. 2025-38

88/90
Derek Smedley MW, DerekSmedleyMW.co.uk, April 2017

A combination of vintage conditions and a slight shift in style has worked wonders at Monbousquet in 2016. Smoky, mocha oak, fine, but dense tannins, crunchy blackberry and blackcurrant fruit and much brighter, fresher acidity than one is used to here. 2022-30

92
Tim Atkin MW, timatkin.com, April 2017
Read more tasting notes...

The 2016 Monbousquet has an attractive bouquet of black cherry, blueberry and light violet aromas, the new oak nicely integrated. The palate is medium-bodied and quite voluminous in the mouth, displaying grainy tannins and tarry black fruit, dark chocolate and cedar toward the finish. Give this four to five years in bottle. Drink 2023-2038.

91
Neal Martin, vinous.com (Jan 2019), January 2019

The 2016 Monbousquet is a blend of 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon cropped at 38 hectoliters per hectare at 14.46% alcohol. It was picked between 6-11 October and matured in 70% new oak, the remainder one-year-old barrels. It offers an opulent but well defined bouquet of black cherries, violets and fresh fig, a little tight initially but soon unfolding in the glass. The palate is quite rich and generous on the opening with layers of blackberry and raspberry laced with graphite and a pinch of cracked black pepper. It tapers in a little towards the finish, completing a bold and assertive Monbousquet that is likely to require four or five years in bottle in order to soften those tannins. Interestingly, the sample tasted at Pavie was a little more flamboyant than the more classically styled one that I tasted elsewhere and preferred. Drink Date 2022 - 2045

90/92
Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (230), April 2017

This is very layered and firm with beautiful tannins and richness. Full-bodied, tight and spicy with lovely depth. Refined and pretty.

94/95
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, March 2017

Always one of the most concentrated and "mondiale" style wines of Saint Emilion. Monbousquet was the first vineyard purchased by Chateau Pavie owner Gerard Perse back in 1993. The 32 hectares are planted with 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Not tasted en Primeur in 2016.

Farr Vintners, February 2017
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.