Chateau Cambon La Pelouse 2016, Haut-Medoc

A dark, garnet colour with an earthy nose of cassis and bay leaves. The palate is firm and chewy and there are warm herby notes on the length.

"We all remembered 2015 as an expected vintage and praised by the critics. 2016 had  different climatic conditions but still had all the requirements for the creation of a great vintage. Weather which played leapfrog: a chill and humid winter and early spring (+14% of rains compared to the normal). The summer was hot and very dry, the last rain was in mid-June (-80% of rains, similar to 1959!). The flowering started the first week of June with no rain at all. South-Haut-Medoc terroir mainly composed by gravels allowed to the vine its warming and its vegetal cycle's development. The berry set ran through good conditions, we noticed a few shatters which were not really worrying. The veraison started on the 25th of July, the water balance was in deficit. It reminded us the 2010 year (except for the water stock which had been formed during the spring). The 13th of September rain (nearly 30 mm), was unexpected and beneficial, it relaunched the maturity. The 22th of September: beginning of the harvest, the 20th of October: final picking. 4 weeks with two options: waiting for one day more or harvesting! An important difference of temperature (+20degC) during the end of the summer identified this vintage.

In the cellar, the yield was a little bit low compared to last year, Merlot are silk and rich, Cabernet-Sauvignon and Petit-Verdot are full of promise.

2015 and 2016, a good reason to compare - a very different climate course yet."