Château Penin, Grande Sélection, Bordeaux Supérieur, 2016

Dense and concentrated on the nose, this is a real celebration of black berry fruits with some vanilla wood elements too. Ripe fruits, red cherries and blackcurrants give way to dry, intrusive tannins. This definitely has power and structure but it's a bit too tight in the mouth at the moment. Fruit and tannins but without the support to give roundness and overall elegance. Big and bold, just not yet settled or integrated. Give it a few years. The Grande Sélection cuvée is 100% Merlot made from a careful selection of grapes grown on very deep gravelly soil. Soft extraction and controlled oxidation are used followed by aging in fine-grained Allier oak for 12 months, five of which are spent on the lees.