Château Saint-Pierre 2016

It’s slowly coming together and the oak ageing is integrating. The fruit is still a bit tight, but the underlying depth is there.

Subtle oak; compact attack, great density, first-class tannins with a mineral edge; has potential and breed.

This is packed, with a ganache frame wrapping up a dense core of blueberry, black currant, fig and açaí berry reduction flavors that will need time to stretch out. While they do, they'll meld with the warm tar and sweet tobacco notes that line the fruit in spades. In the end, there's a plushness here that is distinct from St.-Julien's typically brambly grip. Best from 2025 through 2040.

Aromas of dried flowers and bramble fruit with fleshy blackcurrant and strawberry. Ripe and rich with good intensity. Firm tannins and a touch of liquorice lead to a crisp, intense finish.

This is fantastic, offering lots of fresh tobacco and blackcurrants, with undertones of hazelnuts and chocolate. Full-bodied with firm, chewy tannins, yet ever so polished and refined. One of the most structured St. Pierre’s in years. A blend of 73 percent cabernet sauvignon, 21 percent merlot and 6 percent cabernet franc. Try from 2024.

Tasted blind. Earlier maturing than some. Nice wine for early drinking. Everything in its place but not one of the most concentrated. (JR)

This has evolved beautifully. The oak has integrated and the palate has filled out. Now you find a lush expression of blackberries, cassis, tobacco, and dark cherries. Full, deep, rich, and long, with 60 minutes in the decanter, this really kicked into high gear. Drink from 2024–2050.

Deep dark ruby, opaque core, discreet brightening on the rim. Restrained dark berry conserve on the nose, delicate tobacco and pleasant herbal savouriness. Medium complexity, ripe cherry fruit, taut, long and salty. Already showing some maturity, but has more ageing potential.

Intense nose with ripe dark fruit, fine oak and smokiness, layers of cassis, dark cherry, cocoa bean and fine leather. The palate is dense but polished with fine proportions, silky tannins, crushed berry notes, crème de cassis, sweet spices and a very long, persistent finish. Very promising.

Deep purple-garnet with violet highlights. Compact bouquet, plenty of blackberry and violet, with alluring cassis in the background. On the palate, firm with a finely austere texture, yet it has the reserve to balance it out. On the finish, lots of blueberry-like fruit; it lacks the richness and suppleness of last year, hence one point lower.

Kunz barrel sample 17: concentrated, profound, complex bouquet, black berries, plums, currants, cedar, flint, Black Currant. Dense, multi-layered, powerful, and balanced palate with creamy, concentrated fruit, plenty of fine tannins, concentrated dark aromatics, a velvety, finely muscular structure, and a very long, dense finish with many lingering flavors.

Concentrated, profound, complex bouquet: black berries, plums, currants, cedar, flint, Black Currant. Dense, multilayered, powerful, and balanced palate with creamy, concentrated fruit, plenty of fine tannins, concentrated dark aromatics, a velvety, finely muscular structure, and a very long, dense finish with many lingering flavors. 19/20 2025 - 2050

The most effortlessly brilliant vintage in St-Julien, and Saint-Pierre is right up there with the best examples you can find. Smoky and sculpted, still chewy tannins, firm but assured, liquorice and campfire smoke that convey warmth and generosity — it makes you want to pull up a chair by the embers and grab a friend to share it with. The fruits are brambled hedgerow and crumbled blackberry, with touches of brioche and cream, along with bitter chocolate that adds definition. A mineral tingle to the acidities, and another wash of smoke as it opens. 50% new oak, harvest from September 29 to October 17.

The 2016 Saint-Pierre is deep garnet in color. It soars from the glass with expressive scents of cassis, blackberry pie, and plum preserves, plus hints of pencil shavings, tilled soil, and black truffles. Medium-bodied, the palate is packed with juicy black fruits, supported by grainy tannins and plenty of freshness, with an earthy finish.

A very elegant, precise, delicate yet fleshy wine, which we are tasting for the first time from bottle; no doubt fairly rare given the size of the château, but highly recommended!

Intense red fruits, red plum, small black berries. Fresh on the palate, a hint of overripeness, clean attack, ample tannins, long finish.

Garnet red with violet highlights. The bouquet of Saint-Pierre 2016 clearly reflects its terroir, showing refreshing fruity notes and a mineral touch of graphite. I also find notes of coffee and chocolate. The attack is elegant, moreish and fruity. On the palate, the wine has fine-grained tannins that provide a solid backbone, while the rather supple structure brings freshness and supports the aromatic character. An expressive, persistent finish where the freshness perceived on the nose returns. A wine that should be left to rest in the cellar for a while.

The nose is fresh, aromatic, and relatively concentrated. It reveals notes of fresh red fruits, fresh blackberry, and fresh strawberry, combined with a subtle touch of bell pepper and discreet hints of coffee, chocolate, and toasted oak. The palate is fruity, balanced, silky, and offers lovely freshness, racy minerality, depth, and good structure. On the palate, this wine delivers notes of fresh blackberry, fresh wild strawberry, and attractive notes of small fresh berries, accompanied by hints of dark chocolate, oak, and caramelized oak. The tannins are fine and well-handled. Good length.

Black color with purple highlights, youthful and beautiful. An intense, delicate, fruity, and subtle nose. Hints of coffee bean, both green and roasted. Original. Precise from the first attack, then melting and ample mid-palate, very caressing and juicy; the wine blends with the saliva and never leaves the palate. It has great power tempered by the mellow softness of the flesh. Superb and impossible to spit out.

92–94. Barrel Sample. Ripe and fruity while also having just the right amount of structure, this is a concentrated wine. It has depth and fine, elegant acidity, and is likely to be ready from 2026.