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2016 Rol Valentin

2016 Rol Valentin

94+ AG

Featured Review
The 2016 Rol Valentin is absolutely fabulous. Rich, sumptuous and super-expressive, the 2016 hits all the right notes. Blood orange, mint, espresso and sweet red-toned fruit all grace this exquisite, alluring Saint-Émilion. Silky tannins and bright overtones add to the wine's sheer appeal. This vivid, stunningly beautiful Saint-Émilion, will drink well right out of the gate. Tasted three times. Antonio Galloni

Vinous (Galloni) | 94+ AG

Critic Reviews

The 2016 Rol Valentin is absolutely fabulous. Rich, sumptuous and super-expressive, the 2016 hits all the right notes. Blood orange, mint, espresso and sweet red-toned fruit all grace this exquisite, alluring Saint-Émilion. Silky tannins and bright overtones add to the wine's sheer appeal. This vivid, stunningly beautiful Saint-Émilion, will drink well right out of the gate. Tasted three times.

Antonio Galloni | 94+ AG
Spice, black cherries, earth, and forest floor notes all emerge from the 2016 Château Rol Valentin, a ripe, sexy, beautifully balanced effort that delivers the goods. With silky tannins, medium to full body, no hard edges, and a great finish, it's well worth seeking out. This wine is 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc brought up in a small amount of new oak, with a touch in concrete eggs as well.

Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JD
This has attractive plum pastry and blueberries on the nose, leading to a very nicely carved palate that has fine but sturdy tannins and good depth of ripe plum and mulberry flavors. Try from 2022.

James Suckling | 93 JS
A ripe, engaging style, featuring a mix of raspberry, currant and blackberry compote notes, streaked with mouthwatering anise and singed apple wood details. Displays solid grip, revealing a flash of minerality through the finish while the fruit plays out. Sneaky long. Best from 2021 through 2032. 1,971 cases made.

Wine Spectator | 93 WS
The 2016 Rol Valentin has a medium to deep garnet-purple color and offers up straight-laced, serious notions of fragrant earth, cigar box and sautéed herbs over a core of warm plums, mulberries and blueberry preserves. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is completely packed with muscular fruit, with a firm, grainy texture and loads of freshness, finishing long and berry laced.

Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RP
90–92. Barrel Sample. This is a dark wine, solid in tannic structure and with great concentration. It has power that will express itself in rich fruitiness and firm tannins. This is a wine for long-term aging.

Wine Enthusiast | 91 WE
A 7.3ha estate, currently building a new cellar in St Etienne de Lisse, that's all about precision winemaking and intra-plot selection, helped by using small oak vats of 10-30hl. This is a property that sticks to a flavour profile that is tight, firm and dramatic - expect liquorice and coffee beans. It's a little high on extraction but full of confidence and life, and will prove hard to resist. 50% new oak. (Drink between 2023-2032)

Decanter | 90 DEC

Wine Details for 2016 Rol Valentin

Type of Wine Bordeaux Red : Picture in your mind a combination of cedar, lead pencil, blackcurrant, plum and mineral aromatics, and texture that caresses your palate like a playful lover. The experience is thrilling from the first whiff to the final seconds of a tannic, generous finish - that is what you'll get from a Bordeaux Red
Varietal Red Bordeaux Blend : The inhabitants of the Bordeaux region of France have been cultivating wine-grapes for thousands of years. Ancient Roman ruins litter the vineyards from Saint Emilion to Graves where the art of blending Bordeaux varietals has been practiced and perfected over a very long history. Bordeaux’s climate, terroir and soils, though varied, provide the optimal growing conditions for the red grape varietals planted in the region.

Rarely listed on the labels as “blend,” the red wines of Bordeaux are perhaps the most artfully designed and celebrated in the world. The calculated art of blending the native Bordeaux varietals is impressively accomplished in the most famous winegrowing region in the world. The phrase Bordeaux Blend which seems to have been coined by British wine merchants in the 19th Century relates as much to wines made from the blend as to the grape variety combination itself.

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec and occasionally Carmenere are the lead characters in the creation of Red Bordeaux Blends. Each plays a part in their own fashion and implemented in various combinations and percentages in each appellation within Bordeaux. Red Bordeaux Blends are majorly composed of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, roughly making up 90% of all Bordeaux Blends. Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec (occasionally Carmenere) are also important components and vital to the production of the region’s red wines.

For simplicity, the winegrowing region of Bordeaux can be divided into three main appellations producing Red Bordeaux Blends; the Left Bank (Medoc), Right Bank and Pessac-Leognan (Graves). The Left Bank has a terroir comprised of a wide variety of gravel, stones, sand, limestone and clay soils on a natural terrain of gentle slopes. This sets the stage perfectly for the production of Cabernet Sauvignon, which is the dominant grape of the Left Bank. For example, Chateau Lafite (Paulliac) is composed of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Right Bank is dominated by clay and limestone with sand and gravel, but the clay in the Right Bank is distinctly its own and adds to the health, growth and vitality of the vines of the varietals grown here. Right Bank wines are typically 80% Merlot-based, which are often denser, richer and mature earlier than those of the Left Bank (with exceptions – Petrus for example). Merlot is a vital component to Pomerol winegrowing and making. Cabernet Franc also plays a major role in the Right Bank, most notably, in Saint Emilion, where the infamous vineyards of Chateau Ausone and Chateau Cheval Blanc are planted to 55% and 52% Cabernet Franc, respectively. Chateaux that produce wines with a majority of Cabernet Franc are considered “old school” producers, but have perfected the use of Cabernet Franc, which was originally used as a blending grape.

Pessac-Leognan (Graves) enjoys a temperate climate, natural hygrometry influenced by the ocean, and has a terroir composed of gravelly soil over a clay subsoil on sloping, hilly terrain. Natural drainage due to the hilly terrain as well as the gravelly soil structure are perfectly attuned to the Cabernet Sauvignon grape vine, which prospers under these conditions. Pessac reaps the benefits of having the terroir of both the Left and Right Bank as it contains gravel and clay. The clay sub-soil allows the growth and success of Merlot, as well as Cabernet Franc. It is home to the only First Growth not in the Medoc. The 50-hectare vineyard of Haut Brion is planted to 45.4% Merlot, 43.9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9.7% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot.

The percentage of Petit Verdot and Malbec may be lesser in quantity, but not in quality. They are vital to the region’s creation of Red Bordeaux Blends. The combination of Bordeaux varietals is legendary in the region, around the world and has influenced winegrowers worldwide to plant and vinify wines which resemble those of Red Bordeaux Blends.

Country France : Wine is the lifeblood that courses through the country of France, pulsing with vigorous pride and determination. Viticulture is not just a hobby or an occupation in France; it is a passion, a cherished tradition that has been passed down through generations of wine stained hands. Winemaking is a beloved art that has been ingrained in the culture, an aptitude instilled in sons by fathers and the hallmark for which France’s reputation was built, allowing it to be renowned as, arguably, the most important wine producing country in the world.



For centuries, France has been producing wines of superior quality and in much greater quantity than any other country in the world. It boasts some of the most impressive wine regions, coveted vineyards and prestigious wines on earth. The regions of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone, Sauternes and Champagne have become the benchmark, for which others aspire to become. Legendary producers such as Chateaux Margaux, Domaine De La Romanee Conti, Chapoutier, d’Yquem and Dom Perignon are idolized world-wide.



France has stamped its name on nearly every style of wine, from the nectar-like sweet Sauternes to hedonistic Chateauneuf Du Papes classic Bordeaux and Burgundy, to its sparkling dominance in Champagne. Many of the most infamous grape varietals in the world, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay originated in France and are not only beloved, but utilized in the creation of some of the greatest wines on earth. French wine production commands the attention of the wine market year after year. With over 860,000 hectares under vine, and numbers close to 50 million hectoliters of wine produced annually, France dominates the market and sets the standard for not only product quality, but also quantity.



France’s many contributions to the world of wine have been absolutely indispensable. The country is the originator of the term “Premier Cru,” coined the term Terroir (a French term so complex there is no literal translation) and has laid the blueprint for a structured appellation system, which others have implemented in their own countries. French vineyard techniques and winemaking practices are mimicked world-wide. California vintners have been replicating Rhone style wines for decades, South America has adopted the French varietal of Malbec and countries around the world are imitating Burgundian styled Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.



With vast diversity in terroir, France is home to some of the most hospitable winegrowing locations on earth. The combination of topography, geology, climate, rainfall and even the amount of sunlight combined with the long historical tradition of winegrowing and making, has allowed the vintners of France to not only hone their skills, but learn from nature to create a product that like the world in which it resides… is very much alive.


Subregion Saint Emilion

Overview

Producer Chateau Rol Valentin

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