Chateau Croizet-Bages 2016: a balanced Pauillac
A Fifth Classified Growth of 1855 in the Pauillac appellation, the Chateau Croizet-Bages is a red wine made from a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc. The ageing is done in barrels of which 50% of the them are new.
At Chateau Croizet-Bages, the 2016 vintage was marked by extreme weather conditions. There was not really a spring and the weather was wet and cool until early summer. This was then followed by heat and drought in the vineyard, which put the young vines under water stress. The deeply rooted vines, however, responded extremely well. The harvest took place under perfect sunny conditions from September 23 to October 14.
At tasting, the Chateau Croizet-Bages 2016 is both powerful and soft with ripe tannins. This balanced wine is very similar to the 2005 vintage from the estate.
The 2016 Croizet Bages has a clean and well-defined bouquet with tobacco-tinged black fruit, conservative but nicely focused. The palate is medium-bodied with quite firm and grainy tannin. It displays some elegance towards the finish, something that I do not always find in this Pauillac growth and it may well mature into a fine, probably earlier-drinking 2016 compared to its peers. But there is a sense of style in situ.