Château Fleur Haut Gaussens - Grand Vin 2016

For the past half-decade, this Entre-Deux-Mers appellation has been winning over wine lovers with its full-bodied wines, featuring expressive fruitiness that blends beautifully with toasty oak notes.

The Grand Vin Fleur Haut Gaussens 2016 is a three-varietal blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec. Its bouquet is captivating, featuring pure, ripe black cherries mingled with blueberries and violets, reminiscent of Margaux. The palate is very well-balanced, with lush notes of blackberry and ripe fruit, complemented by hints of pencil lead and cedar. The wine is harmonious and long on the palate, building up but never overwhelming the senses, leading to a clean and lively finish. It’s a sumptuous Bordeaux that’s almost too easy to drink, so be sure to have a second bottle on hand.

Having tasted this wine last year, I can say it is truly first-rate. The nose is precise, well-balanced, and slightly austere, with lovely pyrazine notes, pepper, and juicy dark fruit. The palate is structured by high-quality tannins and punctuated by a magnificent hint of licorice.

Starting with his family’s vineyard on the right bank in Vérac, near Fronsac, Hervé Lhuillier has created a true premium Bordeaux brand, built on the foundations of depth, authenticity, and carefully controlled oak aging. New vines of Sauvignon, Malbec, and Petit Verdot, planted on exposed limestone (the quarries are open to visitors), will soon begin producing grapes. While the density-sorting machine brought greater precision to the 2018 vintage, we remain unsatisfied with the somewhat excessive extraction and aging. Let’s give the wines time to settle before considering removing the star.

A wine aged in large oak casks with a pleasant aroma; it is ripe and developing nicely. The velvety tannins and ripe fruit exhibit both plenty of freshness and a structure that remains solid. This will be a fine wine in the years to come, so wait until 2021 to drink it.