Chateau Ducluzeau

Very attractive, bright cassis and blackberries with attractive spice and undergrowth complexity. The palate has a sleek, neatly aligned feel with long and succulent tannins that deliver fresh, purple-fruit flavor. This has a fresh, focused finish. Drink or hold.

The 2016 Ducluzeau exceeds my expectations from barrel. It has a clean, precise bouquet of blackberry and bilberry fruit, and a light estuarine scent emerges with time. The palate is medium-bodied with crunchy black fruit tinged with tobacco and sea salt, and just a tang of black olive toward the vivid finish. Classic Bordeaux, no more, no less.

Clear freshness here, with raspberry, redcurrant and blackberry fruits dominating. It has touches of rusticity but opens up really well in the glass, with a depth of flavour that you don't always find in Listrac. Bruno Borie's mother can trace her family back to the 18th century in this appellation, and they are doing a good job of raising its profile today.

The 2016 Ducluzeau is a blend of 79% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot with a relatively high IPT of 88 and 14% alcohol. Matured for 12 months in 20% new oak, it has a tightly wound bouquet of small dark cherries, a touch of vanilla and Valrona chocolate. The palate is medium-bodied with a little hardness on the entry, a crisp seam of acidity and a muscular finish that just needs more flesh to come through. It is a little brutish at the moment to be honest, so hopefully it will soften during its élevage.