Southwold: 2016 Bordeaux Blind

BY NEAL MARTIN | AUGUST 11, 2020

Now that the previous decade is in our rearview mirror, it is possible to step back and take a look back the peaks and troughs of Bordeaux vintages. You might argue that high points are almost cyclical, coinciding with the middle of each decade; case in point, the pairs of 1985 and 1986, then 1995 and 1996,  followed by 2005 and most recently 2015 and 2016. The last of these was born with a halo above its head, for it crystallized everything Bordeaux had been progressing toward over the previous ten years. It is an exemplar, a benchmark against which subsequent vintages are compared, not least coevals such as 2015, 2018 and 2019. Yet even those are not anointed with quite the same aura or reverence, despite the 2016 alumnus being in bottle for only a few months. 

The logistics of efficiently pouring over 200 wines into the correct glass have been perfected over the years – the syncopated merry dance around the table.

I customarily follow my in-bottle reviews, conducted in December, with the annual “Southwold” tasting – in quotation marks, since the venue is no longer the namesake Suffolk village, but that is where its heritage lies, and it continues to be held in mid-January with the same coterie of seasoned tasters. Indeed, you can glean as much information from eavesdropping on cross-table conversations as from the wines themselves. Which one gained unanimous praise and which was pilloried? Why did one provoke a sotto voce four-letter expletive? What are the contentious wines that divided opinion quicker than a Brexit referendum?

My debut was back in 2007. Much like the House of Lords, a seat at the table is yours unless you voluntarily vacate it (or misbehave). Southwold is unique insofar as I am unaware of any other organized tasting that comprises so many wines from the highest echelons of the Bordeaux hierarchy that, with only one or two recalcitrant exceptions, are sourced directly from properties. Upon arriving at their destination, they are marshaled into peer groups, assessed and discussed. As usual, I publish my own results, with apologies for the delay. The time pre-allocated for writing this report was unexpectedly consumed by the saga that was 2019 en primeur. And the process takes time, since each note must be cross-referenced with my assessments in barrel and just after bottling in order to note any changes.

The Growing Season

I will not go over the growing season because, funnily enough, it has not changed since 2016. For those who would like their memories refreshed, click here for all the information you need.