2016 Blason d'Issan, Margaux

Under the direction of Emmanuel Cruse and consultant Eric Boissenot, the 2016 Blason d’Issan is the product of rigorous plot-by-plot selection and a gravity-fed cellar protocol designed to prioritize structural clarity. The fruit is sourced from younger vines within the estate’s historic walled vineyard, where deep gravel mounds over clay-limestone subsoils provide the drainage and thermal regulation central to the Margaux appellation. The 2016 vintage conditions—specifically a dry summer followed by cool nights in September—facilitated complete phenolic maturity while preserving the high acidity and low pH levels necessary for structural tension. This technical profile results in a Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant wine defined by its fine-grained tannin architecture and a concentrated mid-palate density that maintains significant vertical energy. Managed with approximately 14 months in 35% new French oak, the final assembly highlights the structural precision and saline minerality characteristic of the estate’s proximity to the Gironde estuary. Perhaps one of the best values on the market in Bordeaux today.