CHÂTEAU D’ARSAC | Margaux | Cru Bourgeois | 2016
cabernet sauvignon | merlot

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Today we are going to review a genuine and classic, ‘left bank‘ Bordeaux blend from the famous Margaux sub-region – Margaux Cru Bourgeois 2016 by Château d’Arsac. This is the winemaker’s flagship wine – a classic blend of two of the region’s most famous grape varieties: cabernet sauvignon (72%) and merlot (28% – also known as merlot noir in Bordeaux), where cabernet sauvignon forms the wine’s main body and structure, while merlot adds up-front richness and rounds up the final blend, delivering some much desired smoothness on the finish. Château d’Arsac is one of the oldest estates in Médoc, its history dates back almost 1000 years, first owned by Guillaume Géraud d’Arsac in the early 12th century. Today the estate has not only been restored to its former glory, but also has been promoted to the much more famous Margaux appellation and to the ‘Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel‘ status. Made from the cabernet sauvignon and merlot grapes that were sourced from vines planted on brown, gravely-rich soils in the Margaux appellation, this particular wine has been aged for at least 12 months in french oak barriques, from which 30% new oak. The wine is vinified and signed by the famous french winemaker, Philippe Raoux. The brown oblique bar that crosses the chateaux facade on the label is an homage paid to Diagonale de Bernar Venet – a french conceptual artist known for his diagonals and mathematically precise sculptures. That said and without further ado, let’s take a look at the wine tasting results.
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

//Visual
colour: deep garnet color
clarity: hazy garnet shades

//Olfactory
intensity: pronounced & vibrant
fruit profile: black fruits
__black fruits: black cherry | black plum | blackcurrant | blackberry | aronia berry
fruit character: ripe & overripe

//Flavor
non fruit: spice | oak | earth
__spice: peppercorn | nutmeg | cloves | tonka seeds | black pepper
__oak: roasted oakwood | tobacco | charred wood | black tea | dark chocolate | mocha
__earth: gravel | graphite | granite | charcoal | compost
primary layer: fruit & oak

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: high
alcohol: medium+
tannin: medium+
__grip: ripe
balance: good
__dominant: none
body: firm | medium+

//Taste
fruit profile: black fruits
fruit character: ripe & overripe
non fruit: spice & oak
finish: medium+
aftertaste: crisp & seedy

//Scoring
CHÂTEAU D’ARSAC | Margaux | Cru Bourgeois | 2016
variety: cabernet sauvignon | merlot
country: France
region: Bordeaux | Margaux
rating: 93.5

//Conclusion
maturity: developing | drink now or age for 2 to 3 years
verdict: great | a must try wine

//Prediction
predicted RP rating: 90

//RP Rating
actual RP rating: 89-91

//All Ratings
The critics’ rating distribution:
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This is definitely a great wine of France and, with a total of 93.5 points scored, this wine is right there, among the best wines we’ve rated so far. Check our complete database on the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines that we have tasted and reviewed or go to the about us page and find out more about our exquisite rating system.

Verdict: this is a round, firm and rich Bordeaux wine, with a voluptuous palate and an expressive nose. The wine is still in its development phase, therefore we would recommend to give it 2 or 3 more years of bottle ageing, in order to allow it to reach its full potential. On the nose it brings a mixture of ripe and overripe black fruits and some very nuanced, oak-derived notes in the foreground, followed by a spicy background and a very subtle, earthy layer in between the two. On the palate the wine delivers crisp acidity, ripe tannins and a firm touch of alcoholic warmth that is showing through on the mouthfeel, which evolves nicely into a seedy-crisp aftertaste. All in all, this is a bold, plump and well structured, genuine Bordeaux blend that is mixing power with finesse. Judging by the wine’s structure and those overripe flavours both, on the nose and on the palate, we would suggest to drink it sooner rather than later (say, within the next 2 years), as we firmly believe that it is always better to drink a wine a year too soon than a day too late. We would recommend to pair this wine with spicy meats, like for example a peppercorn filet mignon steak. Enjoy!

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