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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.2 pts. and median of 90 pts. in 35 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by behm0027 on 3/31/2018 & rated 90 points: Nose of sous bois, cedar, tobacco, cassis, tomato can/cooked bell peppers, wine cave. On the palate, flavors of black pepper, tobacco, bell pepper. Nicely balanced, round tannins, soft. Acidity still there but not over-powering. Drinking perfectly out of the bottle. (1408 views) | | | Tasted by Julian Marshall on 7/9/2017 & rated 91 points: Still at peak, a very satisfying combination of dark fruit with a cool, fresh and lingering finish. One of the best from this estate. (1726 views) | | | Tasted by texanoblues on 3/10/2016: Fresher than bottle on 4/4/15.
This one was crimson with slight amber/orange hues. Red cherry, cigar box, dried flowers. Simple, straightforward, but enjoyable. 89-91pts. (2337 views) | | | Tasted by Jgallup on 9/28/2015 & rated 90 points: Great value. I found it to be quite complex. Started out damp earthy but opened up given an hour, releasing more fruit/black cherries. Fascinating mid-week wine. (2576 views) | | | Tasted by Sauvyfan on 6/10/2015 & rated 91 points: really rounded out on night two. Suggest several hours decant. Lost of earthy notes, creosote, mushroom, graphite, black fruits. Old world indeed. (2608 views) | | | Tasted by JuliannaDHS on 4/17/2015 & rated 88 points: I agree with prasm's notes. There are some enjoyable qualities to this wine, but it is past its peak. (2036 views) | | | Tasted by prasm on 4/7/2015 & rated 90 points: Consumed over 2 days (vacuvined), note from day 2. Nose: Medium expressiveness, plum, leather, mushrooms and earthiness dominate with minty undertones. Palate: Medium-full bodied, front end is - channeling my inner Gary Vaynerchuk - like biting into a plum that dropped off the tree two days ago and is lying in dirt still moist from a recent rain shower - ripe plum and gritty earthiness, followed by a nice mid-palate spice lift which, unfortunately along with the fruit disappears quickly in the back-end. Finish: Medium length dominated by earthiness and green veggies. Still interesting and enjoyable but definitely past it's peak. (1843 views) | | | Tasted by texanoblues on 4/4/2015 & rated 89 points: Dark red with prominent amber hues and clear. Cedar, cherry, bell pepper, and forest floor on the nose. Cedar, cherry, tobacco, and mint on the palate. Nicely balanced with respect to acid, tannin, and alcohol (13%). No rough edges or heat. Very nice bottle that seemed to have aged rather quickly. Was surprised by how faded and mute the notes were. (1342 views) | | | Tasted by rocknroller on 10/19/2014: Monthly Tasting Group: Right Bank Bordeaux (Levain, Mpls): I only had a small pour of this later in the night, but it really was fascinating. I would have sworn this was a pinot, bright red fruits, berries, ripe, light body, go figure. Enjoyable, but not what I expected. (2357 views) | | | Tasted by mattdathan on 4/13/2014 & rated 91 points: Lovely - smooth and elegant with a few years left in it yet. (1914 views) | | | Tasted by Neuronstar on 4/10/2014 & rated 90 points: very good value. it gets better with decanting. day 2 is a significant improvement, which is why I give it a 90
The wine looks crimson colored. The legs are medium. There is no sediment in the bottle. It smells like forest floor, mushroom, cedar, tobacco, stems, horsey, plum and blackberry. (1851 views) | | | Tasted by Fat Lips on 3/22/2014 & rated 90 points: Deep ruby color with earthy aroma of forest floor and mushroom plus a hint of plum and licorice. The palate offers cherry, blackberry, graphite, mineral notes, mushroom, and a hint of black pepper and spice. Nice structure with low acidity, low/medium tannins, and medium finish. This is an excellent Bordeaux made in the traditional way. A well balanced mixture of minerality and fruit. (1747 views) | | | Tasted by Sauvyfan on 12/21/2013 & rated 90 points: This was a very nice bottle. Not a lot of length but beautifully balanced and silky smooth. Great value. (1722 views) | | | Tasted by KCBrian on 12/21/2013 & rated 90 points: PNP with dinner. Fairly dark color. Nose is dominated by cedar and muted dark fruit. Now about half way through the bottle. Tastes of the dark fruits again and has some oak and cedar. A bit of tannins and saw dust. No real follow through but a very solid wine for 20 bucks! (2119 views) | | | Tasted by sdhaliwal on 11/15/2013 & rated 92 points: Good with a burger. (1622 views) | | | Tasted by behm0027 on 10/16/2013 & rated 89 points: Cedar, tobacco, and red fruit on the nose. Meat, dark fruits, and earth on the palate. Black pepper and leather on the finish. Nice grip from the tannins along with well balanced acidity. Medium bodied. Did not decant -- opened up after 30 minutes. (1670 views) | | | Tasted by sdhaliwal on 10/14/2013 & rated 92 points: Drinking very well, unlikely to improve. (1769 views) | | | Tasted by Winiac on 8/7/2013 & rated 88 points: Not a long finish but very finessed and elegant red fruit. (1835 views) | | | Tasted by Jgallup on 6/16/2013 & rated 90 points: Nice change from the Napa cabs I'm used to. Earthty, chewy, but with lots of favor. Enjoyed it with BBQ, seemed to pair well. (1959 views) | | | Tasted by Champagneinhand on 6/2/2013 & rated 91 points: Very different from the last bottle opened about 6 months past. The wine is really showing it cab Franc now, with dark cherries, black currant, forest earth and a touch of greener vegetal that makes you notice the CF. Nice but present tannins and acid keep this wine alive. Looks like it could be in its prime within another years or so, but no reason to wait. (2519 views) | | | Tasted by Champagneinhand on 3/9/2013 & rated 89 points: I don't know if this was still bottle shocked, but has been in the cellar for a month. This inky dark violet, Merlot based St. Emilion had dirty black fruit on the nose, like it had been picked up off the ground. A few notes of some oak integration, but not a whole lot going on the nose. The palate was much of the same with a heavy dose of wet earth and some mushrooms with the dark fruit. The tannins were quite chewy, nothing silky about this bottle. The acid was a bit low and the minerals just were not showing well. I'll hold the last bottle another year or 2. I think that a bit more time will help this wine, as it seems like its a bit shut down right now. (2574 views) | | | Tasted by dcasper on 10/28/2012 & rated 87 points: First experience with this wine. Not bad, no real funk but some earth/dirt on the nose. A lot of fruit on the nose, but not bad at all. (2590 views) | | | Tasted by Perkyleo33 on 8/4/2012 & rated 90 points: Medium dry, very earthy: mushrooms, leather, old cigar and dark fruits, plum. Medium body. Dark purple color. (2798 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Château Les Gravières Producer websiteRed 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..?St. Émilion Grand Cru Les Vins de St. Émilion (Syndicate Vitocole de Saint-Emilion) – Read about St. Emilion
Vins de Bordeaux:
Grape Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot
Soil: Sandy soils with alluvial gravel deposits
Surface Area: 4,160 ha |
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