Chateau Larrivaux 2016
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Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine -
Enthusiast
Wine - Decanter
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Blend: 53% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot, 5% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
At once ripe yet cool with minty freshness, this Haut-Médoc has plenty of moderately dry tannins and currant fruit character to carry it. Good length. Drink or hold.
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Wine Spectator
Fresh and focused, with a delightful mix of dark plum, red currant and blackberry compote flavors, enlivened by licorice snap, bramble and tobacco notes. A flash of violet on the finish adds lift. Drink now through 2029.
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Wine Enthusiast
Bold black fruits dominate this generous wine. Its dry, firm tannins are content to play a secondary role in a wine that is packed with dark fruits and general richness. Drink this wine from 2023.
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Decanter
Rich black cherries and cedar on the nose, followed by some touches of blackberry leaf that suggest the fruit is ripe but in no way over-ripe. Spicy, charred tobacco on the palate, which closes in on the finish in that perfect Médoc way where you know the tannins can handle a little ageing. A great value wine this year. For full disclosure, I tried this twice and am selecting the highest score of the two - the first one was perhaps a bad sample, as can happen at En Primeur of course. Drinking Window 2023 - 2040
Other Vintages
2018-
Parker
Robert -
Suckling
James - Decanter
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
While it claims the same basic landscape as the Medoc—only every so slightly elevated above river level—the Haut Medoc is home to all of the magnificent chateaux of the Left Bank of Bordeaux, creating no lack of beautiful sites to see.
These chateaux, residing over the classed-growth cru in the villages of Margaux, Moulis, Listrac, St-Julien, Pauillac and St. Estephe are within the Haut Medoc appellation. Though within the confines of these villages, any classed-growth chateaux will most certainly claim village or cru status on their wine labels.
Interestingly, some classed-growth cru of the Haut Medoc fall outside of these more famous villages and can certainly be a source of some of the best values in Bordeaux. Deep in color, and concentrated in ripe fruit and tannins, these wines (typically Cabernet Sauvignon-based) often prove the same aging potential of the village classed-growths. Among these, the highest ranked chateaux are Chateau La Lagune and Chateau Cantemerle.