2016 Enclos Tourmaline

The 2016 Enclos Tourmaline is round, sensual and polished, offering striking fruit purity, no hard edges and terrific overall balance. Black cherry, chocolate, French oak and licorice give the wine its deep, unctuous personality. Voluptuous and racy, with ripe fruit and silky tannins, the 2016 possesses tons of intensity and richness in a very ripe style that is brought out further by vinification in new French oak barrels. Enclos Tourmaline emerges from a single parcel that is part of La Patache. Michel Rolland is the consultant. Tasted two times. Apr 2017, www.vinous.com

The 2016 Enclos Tourmaline is pure Merlot cropped at 50 hectoliters per hectare and matured in new oak. It has a beautiful bouquet with black cherries, crushed violets and just a hint of licorice that is very well defined and gains intensity with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with fine delineation, good weight in the mouth with a fine line of acidity. One bottle felt a little pinched, but a second was much more refined and demonstrated superb detail and focus on the finish, with a gorgeous saline/black pepper aftertaste. My score reflects that second showing. Apr 2017, www.robertparker.com, Drink: 2023-2045

The 2016 Enclos Tourmaline was fermented entirely in 100% new 225-liter French oak barrels and it was aged for 20 months. Deep garnet-purple colored, it features baked plums, Black Forest cake and exotic spices with cigar box and menthol. The palate is medium to full-bodied, firm, grainy and fresh with great muscle in the mid-palate, finishing long and spicy. 250 cases produced. Nov 2018, www.robertparker.com