Bottled a couple of weeks before I tasted it, the 2016 Semillon was cropped from a cold and late-ripening "El Niño" vintage. The resulting wine is slightly lower in alcohol and fresher than previous years. The vines were 69 years old in 2016 and are planted on lime soils with big limestone blocks of alluvial origin. Fifteen percent of the must fermented in oak barrels where the wine matured for six months. The palate has vibrant acidity and great length, it makes you salivate, because you have to guide yourself by the feeling in the mouth, as the nose is still very closed and undeveloped. It's fresh, linear, with great freshness--a baby, with a long life ahead. I'd have to taste it next to the older vintages, but in my memory this might be the finest year to date. 16,600 bottles were filled in September 2016.

Aromas of pear, corn and sweat are difficult. In the mouth this wine is extra tight and acidic, then chalky on the back palate. Short, sour flavors of gooseberry end quickly on a zingy finish.