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| Community Tasting Notes (average 89.8 pts. and median of 89 pts. in 5 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | Tasted by forceberry on 2/13/2023 & rated 94 points: Typically the wine is composed almost entirely of Merlot with only a tiny addition of Cabernet Franc. Aged for 18 months in barriques, of which about half are replaced annually. 12,5% alcohol.
Luminous, moderately translucent and still relatively youthful dark ruby color with faint evolved brick-red highlights. The nose feels attractively fragrant, harmonious and slightly sweet-toned with nuanced aromas of juicy black cherries, some distinctive arrack tones, a little bit of wild strawberry, light evolved nuances of wizened blackcurrants and old leather, a hint of dusty wood and a touch of forest floor. The wine feels dry, firm and somewhat evolved on the palate with a medium body and harmonious, complex flavors of fresh blackcurrants and wizened red cherries, some arrack tones, a little bit of tobacco, light woody notes of pencil shavings, a hint of forest floor and a meaty touch of roasted game. The overall feel is still remarkably firm and structure-driven, thanks to the high acidity and moderately grippy yet not aggressive tannins. The finish is firm, long and juicy with layered flavors of ripe blackcurrants and dried chokeberries, some woody notes of cedar and pencil shavings, a little bit of old leather, light nuances of pipe tobacco, a characterful hint of arrack and a touch of gravelly minerality.
A fine, wonderfully evolved and still rather firm and structured Pomerol with great sense of depth, complexity and intensity. The wine stood out in a Bordeaux tasting with its distinctive nuance of arrack, which might or might've not come from new oak - however it might be, it didn't really distract but just added to the complexity here, lending a sort of sweet lift to the wine's otherwise more savory flavors. The color here was remarkably youthful compared to the other wines of similar age, but on the palate the wine seemed much more evolved - as is appropriate for a wine +35 years old. All in all, this was a terrific effort and one of the most rewarding Pomerol wines I've had in a long while. Not particularly affordable at approx. 75€, but delivers for the price. Very nice, highly recommended. (946 views) | | Tasted by Antoniusyh on 11/28/2021 & rated 90 points: Ruby red with slightly brown edge. Spent 1.5 hours in the decanter. Typical mature Bordeaux. Aromas of some tar, cedar, wood and some fruit, cherries. Mature taste with good length. Surprisingly similar to chateau Talbot 1986, tastes om the same evening. Should, perhaps, spent shorter time in the decanter before tasting. (470 views) | | Tasted by walkerjfw on 5/18/2020 & rated 88 points: Bottle in my cellar for ~10 years, time to give it a try. Splash decanted and drank over 90 minutes w Valerie
Saturated ruby red, still vibrant, minor separation. Nose started with a whiff of cork taint, was worried it might have been corked but it was gone in 10 minutes. Evolving to dark cherry, minerals. Palate of red and dark fruits, plum, coffee and cocoa. Some dried fruits and herb. Medium weight and finish.
Did better than I thought, although I dont have experience with this property. Easy drinking, nicely aged Pomerol. In a good spot, not likely to improve... (733 views) | | Tasted by cfk49 on 3/22/2014 & rated 88 points: Silky smooth, fresh, enjoyable if a bit simple. Texture certainly was the best part. Exceeded my expectations. (2244 views) | | Tasted by Jasper May on 4/22/2013 & rated 89 points: Dark red, tending to orange at the rim - earth, spices and a little menthol on the nose. Medium bodied, slightly sweet on the palate, some plum and dried fruits - improves greatly after two hours in the decanter, the tannins have melted, but the wine still has enough fresh acidity. (2291 views) |
| Château La Croix de Gay Producer website
Read about Chateau La Croix de GayRed Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest" 2019 vintage reports 2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage." 2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comBordeaux Bordeaux Wine Guide
Vins Bordeaux (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux)
History of Bordeaux
History of 1855 Bordeaux Classification
"2009 is all about ripeness, with wines impressively packed with ripe fruit and high alcohol levels. They are showy, in-your-face, and full of pleasure. The 2010s have the fruit and alcohol levels of the 2009s, but with a compelling freshness on the finish that balances the fruit and provides a perfect sense of structure." - Ben Nelson
"2016 is a landmark vintage in certain spots of Bordeaux and it should be remembered as one of the most inspired campaigns of the last 40-50+ years." -Jon Rimmerman "The quality of red Bordeaux in 2016 was universally lauded – although the response to the en primeur campaign was muted. Quantity was high too, with the equivalent of 770 million bottles of wine produced. An exceptionally dry summer with cool nights eventually, thanks to mid September rain, resulted in small, thick-skinned, ripe grapes, and the wines are marked by high tannin and acidity, with superb aromatic fragrance." - Jancis Robinson
"2017 was complicated, but there are some excellent wines. Expect plenty of freshness and drinkability from wines that will offer excellent value, and others that will rival 2016 in terms of ripeness and ageability. But they are likely to be the exception not the rule, making careful selection key." - Jane Anson
"In the past, a vintage such as 2022 may have been overripe, raisined and low in acidity but 2022 had a sneaky little reservoir in its back pocket - a near perfect marriage of cool/cold/rain the previous winter and the previous vintage that literally soaked the soils (a key to why 2022 is not 2003...or 1893)." - Jon RimmermanLibournais Libournais (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux) - Read more about St. Emilion and its wines - Read more about Pomerol and its wines
Saint Emilion Grat Classified Growth, Classified Growths, Grands Crus Classes, GCC In 1954, while the "Graves" growths had just published their own classification, the wine syndicate of Saint-Emilion, composed by wine growers, brokers and wine traders with the approval of the INAO - Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (A.O.C), decided to work on a classification for the wines of Saint Emilion. Initially, four grades were defined. These were reduced to two - First Great Classified Growth (A and B) and Great Classified Growth - in 1984.
As of Medoc's 1855 historical grading, the Saint-Emilion Great Classified Growth classification is not only based on qualitative criteria by tasting the wines on a ten years period previous to the assessment, but also on commercial considerations such as: - sales price levels - national and international commercial distribution - the estate's reputation on the market
Properties who don't manage to join the club of about sixty Classified Growths are given the denomination of Great Growth ("Grand Cru"), while the remaining wineries of the A.O.C are simply reported as "Saint-Emilion". It is to be noted that the owners must officially apply to appear in the official classification. Thus for example the famous Chateau Tertre-Roteboeuf, whose quality and reputation would easily justify to be listed among the First Great Classified Growths, does not appear here by the will of its owner, François Mitjaville.
The Saint-Emilion Great Growth classification was revised in 1969, 1985, 1996 and 2006. The only two guaranteed vintage (A.O.C) who can apply to the classification are the "Saint-Emilion Grand Cru" and "Saint-Emilion" areas.
By grading 61 properties, the 2006 revision confirmed many growths from the former classification, but also caused a number of surprises and a few inevitable disappointments. Many observers thought that the impressive progression of Perse's Chateau Pavie since 1998 would be rewarded by an upgrade into the First Great Classified Growths (A) category, but finally such was not the case.
Among the estates promoted to the First Great Classified Growths B category are Chateau Troplong-Mondot and Pavie-Macquin, whose efforts made since the Nineties fully justify their new grade. It should be noted that no First Great Classified Growth was relegated to the lower Great Classified Growth class.
Promoted growths from the status of Great Growth ("Grand Cru") to Great Classified Growth ("Grand Cru Classe") are: Chateaux Bellefont-Belcier, Destieux, Fleur Cardinale, Grand Corbin, Grand Corbin-Despagne and Monbousquet.
The demoted growths from the status of Great Classified Growth to Great Growth are: Chateaux Bellevue, Cadet Bon, Faurie de Souchard, Guadet Saint-Julien, La Tour du Pin-Figeac (Belivier), La Tour du Pin-Figeac (Moueix), Lamarzelle, Petite Faurie de Soutard, Tertre Daugay, Villemaurine and Yon-Figeac. If the recent samples of some of the above mentioned properties may justify their current downgrade, there are great chances that estates like Bellevue, Tertre Daugay or Yon-Figeac will be upgraded to their previous rankings by the next revision in 2016 as the progresses noted after 2000, but not entering in the range of vintages (1993 - 2002) appointed for the criteria of selection for the 2006 classification, are noticable.
The two following estates have completely disappeared from the Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classification: Curé-Bon-la-Madeleine (integrated meanwhile to Chateau Canon) and La Clusière (integrated meanwhile to Chateau Pavie).
Finally, no estate considered as "garagiste" has integrated the classification. Valandraud, Mondotte, Le Dome, Bellevue-Mondotte or Magrez-Fombrauge have, for the least, the potential to be ranked as Great Classified Growths. In sight of the very fine quality reached by the above mentioned estates in recent vintages as well as all the innovative wine making methods used by the "garagistes", it remains to be seen whether the authorities will dare to cross the line in 2016..?Pomerol Wikipedia | French wine guide - Read about Pomerol |
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