CHÂTEAU LE THIL
2016 Pessac-Léognan
Le Thil is a rather lovely estate which neighbours Smith Haut Lafitte. The Cathiards (of Smith) bought the Château and part of the vineyard four years ago. This vintage is 100% Merlot, and will spend 12 months in barrel, with 30% new wood. Florence Cathiard describes this as 'the Pomerol of Pessac-Leognan'. Fresh and very attractive supple and juicy wine. Good volume in the middle and a suave very fine-tannined fruit-filled finish. A production of only 6-800 cases a year. Good Value. Drinking range: 2020 - 2032 Rating: 90-92 L&S (Apr 2017)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
Located just across the street from Smith Haut Lafitte (the same team makes it), the 2016 Château Le Thil comes from more clay and limestone soils and is all Merlot. This medium to full-bodied effort offers a fresh, seamless, elegant character as well as beautiful fruit, notes of leafy herbs and earth, light tannins, and a balanced mouthfeel. It’s an outstanding Graves to drink over the coming 10-15 years. Drinking range: 2019 - 2034 Rating: 90 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (Feb 2019)
The 2016 Le Thil, which is pure Merlot on clay-limestone soils, has a ripe blueberry and dark plum bouquet that conveys a sense of purity. The palate is smooth in the mouth, easy-drinking and silky in texture. The 30% new oak is very discreet, hints of vanilla emerging toward the spicy finish. Drinking range: 2020 - 2030 Rating: 90 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jan 2019)
The 2016 Le Thil, 100% Merlot on clay/limestone, is absolutely delicious. Dark cherry, chocolate, cloves, lavender and menthol infuse this dark, sumptuous Pessac-Léognan. Plush and wonderfully deep, the 2016 hits all the right notes. The 2016 offers serious quality at a very modest price tag. Drinking range: 2021 - 2031 Rating: 92 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jan 2019)
The 2016 Chateau le Thil (Comte Clary), one of the properties owned by Daniel and Florence Cathiard of Smith Haut Lafittte, is 100% Merlot this year since the Cabernet Sauvignon was pulled up and replaced with Cabernet Franc a couple of years ago. The nose is clean and pure, not powerful, with scents of boysenberry jam and crushed strawberry. The palate is medium-bodied with an attractive minerally opening, a little masculine and aloof, but nicely balanced and it builds in the mouth towards quite an elegant mulberry and black plum finish. Certainly the more clayey soils benefit this 2016 compared to the 2016 Cantelys grown on gravel soils, as it has more body and more length. Drink it over the next six or seven years. Drinking range: 2019 - 2027 Rating: 89-91 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jun 2017)
The 2016 Le Thil, 100% Merlot, is absolutely delicious. Licorice, spice, new leather and silky, sweet tannins give the wine its voluptuous, soft curves and remarkable immediacy. There is lovely depth and richness to the succulent, boldly sketched dark fruit. This is another terrific, modestly priced wine from Daniel and Florence Cathiard. Rating: 89-92 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jun 2017)
There is a weight and intensity to the body that is highly appealing. It has some real depth to it, with powerful, fleshy blackberry fruits, although it is a touch austere on the finish. 100% Merlot but they will be adding Cabernet Franc over the next few years. Drinking range: 2023 - 2038 Rating: 90 Jane Anson, Decanter (Jun 2017)
This is very direct and structured with polished tannins and lovely length. Medium-to full-bodied, long and beautiful. Solid structure for a 100% merlot this year. Rating: 92-93 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2017)
Château Le Thil
A very pretty little Château set in parkland, with 11 hectares of vines attached, on the top and south-facing slope of a clay-limestone hillock. The clay soil has prompted the planting of a high proportion of Merlot, and Florence Cathiard calls this 'the Pomerol of Pessac-Leognan'. The Cathiards of Smith Haut Lafitte bought the property in 2012, reuniting it with Smith, as it has previously been under the same ownership in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and the two Châteaux were linked by a long drive. Viticulture is done in the same way as at Smith, using the Cathiards system of 'bio-precision'. This is a wine at a modest price which benefits from all the expertise of its great neighbour, and is excellent value.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.