Château Talbot St-Julien 4. Cru Classé 2016

Bettane & Desseauve

Wine Spectator

Rock 'em, sock 'em St.-Julien, with mouthcoating ganache and tar notes backed by commensurate cassis, blueberry paste and blackberry reduction flavors. The long finish rumbles through, with buried brambly grip providing the support for the dense fruit and toast to meld.

Vinous

The 2016 Talbot is aromatically quite expressive, but less available on the palate, where it is quite closed down. Time in the glass brings out a host of sweet tobacco, smoke, leather, cedar, mint, licorice and red-toned fruit. In two tastings, Talbot gave the impression it is going to need at least a few years to fully come into its own. Even so there is plenty to look forward to once the tannins start to melt away a bit. Consultants Stéphane Derenoncourt and Julien Lavenu have done quite a bit to raise the bar here, but I get a sense more is possible. Tasted two times.

Decanter

Lovely deep damson colour with violet edging that suggests a healthy pH. Great balance of fruit and acidity, this is one of the fresher wines of the appellation. The fruit is cleanly extracted, fresh and well paced, with a lovely layer of complexity driven by smoke-edged mineral notes.

James Suckling

This is already a beautiful St.-Julien that’s ripe and elegant with not a jot too much oak or tannin, but a very fresh and lively finish that keeps on going.

Vert de Vin Magazine

The nose is fresh, slight and fruity. It reveals slight notes of fresh blackberry, blackberry and strawberry associated with slight notes of racy minerality (terroir), chocolate truffle as well as slight toasted hints/cardamom and a discreet/imperceptible hint of cornflower. The palate is fruity, nicely juicy, well-balanced, marked by red fruits and offers gourmandise, a beautiful freshness, a slight tension as well as a racy minerality. It’s slightly fleshy on the mid-palate. In the mouth this wine expresses notes of fleshy/juicy blackberry, fresh strawberry and fresh raspberry associated with slight notes of redcurrant/cassis, toasted oak/chocolate as well as hints of caramelized oak and a slight hint of almost salin minerality on the finish. Tannins are fine and polished. Good length. A success!

Wine Enthusiast

This is a juicy wine, already bursting with fruit and well-integrated tannins. It is a wine with a medium-term future, best enjoyed around 2026.