"The Château de Valois is owned by the Leydet family, who also owns the St. Émilion Grand Cru, Château Leydet-Valentin, with Frédéric Leydet having taken over direction of Château de Valois from his father, Bernard in the 1996 vintage. Their Pomerol estate comprises just under eight hectares of vines, with the vineyards planted to eighty-three percent merlot and seventeen percent cabernet franc. The wine is raised in one-third new wood, as the family practices a three year barrel rotation for their Pomerol estate. The 2016 version offers up a deep and pure nose of plums, black cherries, cigar ash, a good base of soil, dark chocolate and a touch of spicy oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and well-balanced, with a fine core of fruit, good soil signature and grip, ripe tannins and a long, nascently complex and quite promising finish. This is going to be an excellent bottle once it is ready to drink! 2026-2050."