CHÂTEAU TALBOT
2016 4ème Cru Classé Saint Julien
Very deeply coloured. Almost a wrestling match at first, as Talbot often is at this stage. Powerful tannins and very structured. The fruit is there, shy but intense and sweet blackcurrant behind all the mass. It was a new bottle but revisited twice over forty minutes it had lifted its head and was beginning to smile a little more. Just needs time but the promise is evident. Drinking range: 2027 - 2042 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.
Young and closed even as it clocks towards eight years old, but all of the building blocks of a brilliant wine are here. A little soft through the mid palate compared to some of its sibling 2016s, but this has charm, St Julien finesse, great length. Higher Merlot than usual because of the particular success of this variety, yet this remains full of Left Bank character - pencil lead, slate, woodsmoke, blackberry. Eric Boissenot consultant, 50% new oak for ageing, Jean-Pierre Marty director. Drinking range: 2026 - 2043 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, Decanter (Apr 2024)
55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot. Deep crimson hue. Pure, ripe, dark-fruit aroma intertwined with a smoky, flinty freshness. Still quite closed but very precise. Generous mid-palate fruit covers a plethora of firm but fine tannin. Structured but seductive at the same time. Lifts and drives with a saline note on the finish. Both delicious and ambitious. (JL) 13.5% Drinking range: 2026 - 2046 Rating: 17.5 James Lawther MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2022)
Jean-Michel Laporte (previously at La Conseillante) arrived as technical director in 2018, just as this wine was being bottled, and it's not a bad vintage to usher him in to the world of Château Talbot. I drank this at friend's house a few months ago, and it had been open 24 hours by the time we were pouring it out, which just might be the ideal time, as the tannins were soft and open, and everything felt plush and welcoming. It has the balance of the appellation, the precision that Talbot has increasingly showcased over the past few years, and a sappy feel to the tannins. 50% new oak. Stéphane Derenoncourt as consultant, with Eric Boissenot. Drinking range: 2024 - 2042 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, Decanter (Nov 2021)
The 2016 Talbot has an airy, well-defined bouquet of blackberry, cedar and light minty aromas, perhaps more Pauillac than Saint-Julien. The medium-bodied palate delivers gritty tannins, a fine bead of acidity and a graphite-infused finish. This is very fine for Talbot, a Saint-Julien hewn in a typically classic style. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting. Drinking range: 2022 - 2045 Rating: 92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Aug 2020)
Brought up in 50% new oak, the 2016 Château Talbot is a winner and certainly over-delivers. Powerful notes of crème de cassis, tobacco leaf, lead pencil, and leafy herbs all give way to a silky, seamless Saint-Julien that has remarkable purity of fruit and building, fine tannins. It’s the texture as well as the purity that set this apart, and readers looking for a great value should purchase a case of this beauty. Drinking range: 2023 - 2048 Rating: 93 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (Feb 2019)
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. Drinking range: 2026 - 2056 Rating: 94 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jan 2019)
The 2016 Talbot has a conservative bouquet with slightly leafy black fruit, a subtle earthiness that percolates through with time. At first, the aromatics seem standoffish, but you gradually warm to its charms. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp and tensile tannin. There is an edginess to this Talbot, and it does not quite possess the harmony and charm of other Saint Julien 2016s. But, there is personality here—a bit curmudgeonly and yet you keep going back to take another sip. One to watch. Drinking range: 2022 - 2045 Rating: 90-92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2017)
Very dark and shiny. Not that intense but very well mannered. Sweet, almost thick, start. Very flattering. If I had to choose one wine to represent the vintage in typical style I might well choose this one – though the hint of heat on the end is a little worrying. Should be rewarding in the end. Great harmony. Drinking range: 2025 - 2045 Rating: 17 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2017)
Pure, with a core of cassis and blueberry fruit streaming through, carried by ample yet embedded graphite-edged grip. Keeps a fresh feel through the finish. Lovely. Rating: 93-96 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2017)
A full-bodied red that stays in check with a firm and lightly chewy tannin backbone. Full body and an intense finish. Shows excellent potential. Rating: 93-94 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2017)
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. Aged in 50% new oak. Drinking range: 2027 - 2050 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, Decanter (Apr 2017)
The 2016 Talbot is shaping up to be a jewel of a wine. Black cherry, plum, gravel, smoke, lavender and mint all flesh out in this decidedly imposing, vertical Saint-Julien. Concentrated and forbiddingly tannic at this stage, the 2016 is going to need at least a few years to start coming into its own. It should age gracefully for decades.The blend is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot. Stéphane Derenoncourt and Julien Lavenu consult. Rating: 92-95 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2017)
This is the best young Talbot I’ve had for a while, underlining recent improvements at the château. Dense, chewy and made to last, with serious tannic structure, waves of damson and blueberry fruit, well handled oak and bright acidity. Drinking range: 2026 - 2034 Rating: 93 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2017)
Rating: 93 Steven Spurrier (Apr 2017)
The 2016 Talbot has an airy, well-defined bouquet of blackberry, cedar and light minty aromas, perhaps more Pauillac than Saint-Julien. The medium-bodied palate delivers gritty tannins, a fine bead of acidity and a graphite-infused finish. This is very fine for Talbot, a Saint-Julien hewn in a typically classic style. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting. Drinking range: 2022 - 2045 Rating: 92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Dec 1899)
Château Talbot
St Julien Quatrième cru 1855
John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury was sent by King Henry VI to re-impose some English rule on this troublesome part of his Kingdom, but ended up being killed at the Battle of Castillon in 1453. Quite what connection he had with this particular bit of St Julien is unknown but, at least as far back as the 17th Century, the large estate in the centre of the appellation has been known as Château Talbot and it has generally been held that it was named for said John Talbot.
Désiré Cordier bought Talbot in 1917 and it is still in the hands of the Cordier family.
Sitting right in the middle of St Julien, surrounded by the great names of the appellation, and at 107ha of vineyard, Château Talbot is hard to miss. The vineyards are planted to 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Fermentation takes place in a combination of traditional wooden vats and modern stainless steel, with the Grand Vin spending 14 months in oak (50%-60% new).
There is a second wine named in honour of John Talbot, who's local title was Connétable Talbot.
With such big production and with an easy name to read and remember in the English-speaking market, Château Talbot has a healthy following and reliable reputation. It is a reputation that Talbot, by and large, lives up to with well-flavoured structured wines.
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.