Barrel Sample. A dense wine with ripe tannins. The fruit is there, although buried in the firm structure. It's good for the long term.

Ripe, polished and youthful strident, this sports a solid core of plum and cassis detail that is well-enmeshed with roasted apple wood, black licorice and sweet tobacco notes. The juicy finish has latent grip, with a great graphite edge, as it moves through with authority. For the cellar. Best from 2023 through 2036. 2,200 cases made.

The 2016 la Grave is a blend of 96% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc. It has a medium to deep garnet-purple color and features notions of black and red plums, baked cherries and crushed blackberries with hints of vanilla pod, milk chocolate and cardamom plus a waft of underbrush. Medium-bodied, soft and plush, it delivers bags of warm red and black fruits with plenty of spicy accents and a long savory finish.

The 2016 Château La Grave comes from a 19-acre vineyard of gravelly, clay soils and is mostly Merlot with 4% Cabernet Franc. It offers a classic Pomerol bouquet of dark cherry and currant fruits intermixed with notions of damp earth, truffle, tobacco leaf, and cedar. This is followed by an incredibly elegant, seamless red that has nicely integrated acidity, beautiful balance, and the purity of fruit that's the hallmark of the vintage. Drink it any time over the coming 15 years or more.

The 2016 La Grave Trigant de Boisset is just a little pinched on the nose compared to some of its peers, perhaps showing just a touch of reduction. The well- balanced palate is conservative and linear, with supple tannin, a fine thread of acidity and a tensile finish. Usually this drinks fairly young, but the 2016 deserves three or four years in bottle and should give 15 years of drinking pleasure.