2016 Petit Bocq

The 2016 Petit Bocq has quite a rich bouquet with baked cherries, kirsch, savory fruit and quite noticeable new oak that will need to be subsumed. The palate is medium-bodied and toasty on the entry, slightly hard tannin at first, although they mellow towards the second half with flecks of dark chocolate towards the finish. It is a fine Saint Estèphe, but I would have just dialed down the new oak here. Apr 2017, www.robertparker.com, Drink: 2020-2035

Owned by Dr Gaetan Lagneaux, who has just bought a tiny estate in Pauillac where they are experimenting with a 200% new oak blend (the components are aged in new oak barrels then transferred to fresh new oak barrels). Petit Bocq is a larger property and the wine here is a more classic interpretation of its appellation, although there is still some oak influence evident in the vanilla bean nose and slight tightening of the fruit on the finish that pulls things up a touch too abruptly. Still, this is a good drinking wine. Apr 2017, www.decanter.com, Drink: 2014-2038

The 2016 Petit Bocq is deep garnet-purple in color with cedar and earth aromas over a core of red and black currants, cherries and underbrush. The medium-bodied palate is elegant, vibrant and refreshing. Nov 2018, www.robertparker.com