Chateau Clos Marsalette 2016
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Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling - Decanter
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Jeb
Dunnuck
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The red wine is round, fruity, and distinguished.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Cedar and tobacco aromas lead off, followed by gently steeped red currant and plum fruit flavors. An elegant mix of herb, sanguine and iron notes chimes on the very silky, restrained finish. A wine of subtle charm and sneaky length, with elegance the main feature.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Clos Marsalette, the Pessac-Léognan property of Comte Stephan von Neipperg, is a blend of 45% Merlot, 53% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc that was picked between 4-18 October and matured in 35% new oak. It has a clean and precise bouquet with blackberry and bilberry scents, a fine undercurrent of minerals. I like the elegance on display here. The palate is medium-bodied with mulberry and blackberry on the entry, a touch of black olive and quite a saline second half that is both fresh and detailed. This should drink well over the next decade. It's just a delicious wine--no more, no less. Rating: 90-92
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James Suckling
Beautiful sweet berries and strawberries. Hints of orange peel. Full to medium body, medium tannins and a savory and bright finish. Enjoy the toasted oak and chocolate undertone to this. Drink in 2021.
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Decanter
As ever with Neippereg this is perfectly dressed, with great fruit selection and presentation, ready for a close up. Oak toast is evident but well balanced by some attractive black cherry, raspberry coulis and charcoal mid-palate. A very good wine. Drinking Window 2023 - 2045
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Jeb Dunnuck
As to the red Graves from the Neipperg family, the 2016 Clos Marsalette is plush and charming, with a delicate style in its pretty cassis and currant fruits, notes of tobacco, medium body, and silky, fine tannins. All about balance and finesse, yet with good density, drink it any time over the coming 10-15 years. This is another brilliant sleeper in this vintage and should be snatched up by savvy readers.
Other Vintages
2022-
James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck - Decanter
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Jeb
Dunnuck - Decanter
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James
Suckling
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Wine
Spectator -
James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck - Decanter
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Robert
Parker
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Wine
Spectator -
James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck - Decanter
-
Robert
Parker
-
Wine
Spectator -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling - Decanter
-
Wine
Spectator -
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
This vineyard sits magnificently on gravelly rises deposited eons ago by the Garonne. Offering a great diversity, the subsoil is composed of marine sediment from the Miocene and Pliocene epochs (5 to 15 million years ago) in the form of shelly sand with a bit of clay, fawn-colored sand, and multi-colored clay.
Clos Marsalette's vineyard which covers an area of 12,30 hectares (for the red wine) plus 1,30 hectares (for the white wine) is also looked after expertly in order to produce a wine reflecting the typicity of this Terroir.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Recognized for its superior reds as well as whites, Pessac-Léognan on the Left Bank claims classified growths for both—making it quite unique in comparison to its neighboring Médoc properties.
Pessac’s Chateau Haut-Brion, the only first growth located outside of the Médoc, is said to have been the first to conceptualize fine red wine in Bordeaux back in the late 1600s. The estate, along with its high-esteemed neighbors, La Mission Haut-Brion, Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Pique-Caillou and Chateau Pape-Clément are today all but enveloped by the city of Bordeaux. The rest of the vineyards of Pessac-Léognan are in clearings of heavily forested area or abutting dense suburbs.
Arid sand and gravel on top of clay and limestone make the area unique and conducive to growing Sémillon and Sauvignon blanc as well as the grapes in the usual Left Bank red recipe: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and miniscule percentages of Petit Verdot and Malbec.
The best reds will show great force and finesse with inky blue and black fruit, mushroom, forest, tobacco, iodine and a smooth and intriguing texture.
Its best whites show complexity, longevity and no lack of exotic twists on citrus, tropical and stone fruit with pronounced floral and spice characteristics.