Merveilleux nez de fruits mûrs...cassis, de réglisse, de notes florales et une pointe minérale. Étagé, rond et harmonieux. Un vin sapide, mûr et long. Délicieux !! Quel plaisir ! 94++
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Tale of two wines! My first bottle of this and I must say, the '12 vintage in Bdx has not disappointed me yet. Pnp'd into a decanter 3 hours before dinner and immediately poured off a glass to sit with and sip off of for a few hours, because that's what retirees, do........
Immediately, the Bdx nose of barnyard and leather is there, but it fades rapidly over 20-30 minutes and the beautiful juicy merlot fruit just hits you square in the face as you sip....it's mouthwatering, vibrant dark red berry fruit and full of energy. The back half of this wine really rocks with perfectly matched lively acidity. In the first 90 minutes, this is a Cali red drinkers wine.
The second 90 minutes in the decanter is where this settles into the classic Bdx taste profile one would expect. A little more mouth-drying tannin pokes through, the vibrant fruit calms down a good bit and the acidity backs off in proportion.....some wild mushroom appears with gentle barrel spice out of nowhere. I'm giving it a 95, based on that first 90 minutes of airtime. Carol had a glass or two with our grilled ribeye at dinner in hour 3 and without any prodding or looking at the CT avg score of 93.0, she nailed it on her own at 93 then. The CT fellowship is dead bang on with this one, but again....if you drink in the first 90 min you may tend to score it a tad higher if you like Cali reds, too. This one really floated my boat.
This is already smooth and velvety. Dark ripe fruit with some alcohol present. Still it is very primary in character. This vill be very fine in time. 92+
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5 hour audouze. Dark berry fruit nose with cigar box hints. Full bodied with a very smooth mouthfeel. Layers of red and and black fruit throughout. Long berry finish. Truly outstanding. Tasted double blind with a 2012 Clinet with similar notes but the group gave a slight rating edge to the Clinet @92 vs Le Gay @90.
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1. Medium deep ruby color. Perfumed lush nose of red fruits and vanilla. Dry, rounded acidity, integrated tannins, fleshy palate follows through. Medium body. Very good balance. Medium finish. 94. (3) - RESULT (1) Chateau Le Gay 2012
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This met expectations quite well. This was delicate, precise and subtle with beautiful soft notes, some limestone and stony aspects and some lovely dryness on the finish, along with tobacco and other smoked notes. Very elegant and sophisticated. The quality was readily apparent, though perhaps missing some power - I bet this sings so well in a stellar vintage vs. something average like 2012. I picked up another bottle of this recently at Costco, a magnum - will be fun to revisit this wine in a few years. 94++pts.
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I would match Parker’s 94 on this, but it just falls off a little on the backend. Other than that, lovely lush, creamy, blackberry and cherry compote. Quite full bodied, medium-low acid, still some tannins being worked out, but beautiful to drink now. Slow oxed several hours. I was going to decant, but the initial taste after opening was so explosive I decided against it. Drink or hold for another ten I’d guess.
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Side by side Catsello del Rampolla 2010 this too was obviously very primary. It drank nicely on the fruit though with a tough of dark chocolate and truffle aromas emerging. Too early for my taste here too and my preference would be to revisit in 10 years. But its drinking beautifully for people who love primary fruit.
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Day 1 (PnP as tasted and it was accessible) - Very aromatic and elegant nose, burgundian like palate. Long finish. Great alone, didn't pair well with the the steak (med rare wagyu tenderloin) though. Day 2 - Similar nose as Day 1, but palate changed to be fuller with similar finish. Day 3 - The wine went downhill.
Final thoughts: Great wine that can be enjoyed alone. Might improve slightly. QPR is not there for me currently in my country's market as the price is higher than the Rauzan-Segla 2015.
The word is out on this wine and I predict it will only go up in $ over the near, mid and long term. It is so underpriced versus its neighbors (which are mostly inferior in the vintage) that it has nowhere to go but up.
Only a few months ago, the 2012 Le Gay was available for around $60 and it's already up to $75-80. My gut tells me it is headed closer to $100+ very shortly (I just looked and it is already trading for over $100 in the US).
Why?
Once collectors (and critics) reevaluate the wine, they will understand that it's at a quality level normally reserved for examples of Pomerol at twice the $ (or more).
What I'm trying to say is, after tasting most of the top 2012's again in August, the Le Gay was one of the finest wines in all of Bordeaux.
What's in the bottle does not lie.
Parker: "This is a beautiful, dense, meaty, purple-colored wine, with loads of earth, iron, blackberry and cassis fruit. It is full-bodied, rich and opulent with great length, terrific purity and surprisingly sweeter tannin than I would expect from this terroir that tends to produce a masculine style of wine. Impressive and backward, this Le Gay should drink well for at least 20 years. 2015 - 2035. 94+pts"
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2 hours of air is all that's needed to bring out the truffle, chocolate covered plum, boysenberry, mint, coconut and violet aromatics. Soft, polished, tannins, with a slight dusty texture in the long plummy finish wrap everything up nicely. Still young, but it's already delicious. Good now, but this will really be rocking with another 5 years or so of age.
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From a 3-liter. Concentrated, sweet fruit, layered and fruit driven. Cassis, black cherry, licorice, lavender. Lacked precision and finesse and veered a bit too close to cloying for me to merit the extra 2-3 points I see from some revered raters, but that's just my palate I think.
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Concentrated, deep, soft, fresh, polished ripe fruits, smooth, silky tannins and a long rich, character driven finish. Give it at least 5 -7 more more years and you’ll have a stunning, decadent treat. For a Pomerol of this quality, this still sells for a song.
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Full bodied, rich, concentrated and showing good intensity, the nose pops with smoke, licorice, cocoa and ripe black and blue fruits. There is a vibrant, fresh, polished center of juicy, sweet, black and dark red fruits that really shines. This has really improved since bottling and is one of the top Pomerol's of the vintage. For a wine of this quality from Pomerol, it's a steal in the marketplace!
Tasted at the chateau. Very bright nose of red fruit, violet and chocolate. Wow, the violet is just so perfurmed. More dark fruit and chocolate on the palate. Almost modern. Wonderful texture though a slight bite on the finish. I can't get over how much I like the nose.
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For the 2012 vintage, the wine of Chateau Le Gay was produced using the same methods as they employ at La Violette. 90% of the fruit was vinified in barrel. From a blend that is the same as the plantings at 90% Merlot at 10% Cabernet Franc, the wine reached 13.5% alcohol. Deep ruby in color, the wine offers licorice, oak, earth, jammy black raspberry, chocolate and floral notes. On the palate, the wine is rich, round, supple and lush. Each sip is packed with ripe and overripe black cherries, licorice and dark chocolate. The tannins are ripe while the finish expands, moving from cherry to black raspberry and spice. Sadly, Catherine Pere Verge, the grand woman of Pomerol passed away the day before she was going to present her wines at a dinner for friends and members of the press. She will be missed. 93-95 Pts
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4/13/2024 - Rousanne Likes this wine: 95 Points
Beautiful wine. At its drinking peak. Bright, silky smooth, well balanced, subtle, smooth finish. Pity we didn't have 2 bottles.
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3/18/2024 - popasq Likes this wine: 94 Points
Excellent pomerol, sharp and classy.
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11/13/2023 - watcheslover Likes this wine: 96 Points
One of the best Pomerol for 2012 and certainly the best for quality/price with Clos l'Eglise. Great to drink from now to 2035.
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5/23/2023 - winoma Likes this wine: 95 Points
Great bottle of wine. Plenty of time to go but in a beautiful spot.
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7/20/2022 - ChateauDutremble Likes this wine: 94 Points
Merveilleux nez de fruits mûrs...cassis, de réglisse, de notes florales et une pointe minérale. Étagé, rond et harmonieux. Un vin sapide, mûr et long. Délicieux !! Quel plaisir ! 94++
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6/7/2022 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 95 Points
Tale of two wines! My first bottle of this and I must say, the '12 vintage in Bdx has not disappointed me yet. Pnp'd into a decanter 3 hours before dinner and immediately poured off a glass to sit with and sip off of for a few hours, because that's what retirees, do........
Immediately, the Bdx nose of barnyard and leather is there, but it fades rapidly over 20-30 minutes and the beautiful juicy merlot fruit just hits you square in the face as you sip....it's mouthwatering, vibrant dark red berry fruit and full of energy. The back half of this wine really rocks with perfectly matched lively acidity. In the first 90 minutes, this is a Cali red drinkers wine.
The second 90 minutes in the decanter is where this settles into the classic Bdx taste profile one would expect. A little more mouth-drying tannin pokes through, the vibrant fruit calms down a good bit and the acidity backs off in proportion.....some wild mushroom appears with gentle barrel spice out of nowhere. I'm giving it a 95, based on that first 90 minutes of airtime. Carol had a glass or two with our grilled ribeye at dinner in hour 3 and without any prodding or looking at the CT avg score of 93.0, she nailed it on her own at 93 then. The CT fellowship is dead bang on with this one, but again....if you drink in the first 90 min you may tend to score it a tad higher if you like Cali reds, too. This one really floated my boat.
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3/5/2022 - Vine Likes this wine: 93 Points
The bouquet filled the room on pouring; delicious, with a wonderfully long finish. Classic Bordeaux from a supposedly weak vintage.
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2/26/2022 - Tavastgatan wrote: 92 Points
This is already smooth and velvety. Dark ripe fruit with some alcohol present. Still it is very primary in character. This vill be very fine in time. 92+
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12/27/2021 - boomecho Likes this wine: 90 Points
5 hour audouze. Dark berry fruit nose with cigar box hints. Full bodied with a very smooth mouthfeel. Layers of red and and black fruit throughout. Long berry finish. Truly outstanding. Tasted double blind with a 2012 Clinet with similar notes but the group gave a slight rating edge to the Clinet @92 vs Le Gay @90.
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12/11/2021 - winoma Likes this wine: 95 Points
Spectacular bottle - young but a stunner! Glad to have more in the cellar!
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10/30/2021 - Aivaras Abromavicius wrote:
Amazing. Smooth, very nice smell. One of the best.
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10/26/2021 - Costes76 Likes this wine: 93 Points
1. Medium deep ruby color. Perfumed lush nose of red fruits and vanilla. Dry, rounded acidity, integrated tannins, fleshy palate follows through. Medium body. Very good balance. Medium finish. 94. (3) - RESULT (1) Chateau Le Gay 2012
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11/29/2020 - John McCabe wrote: 94 Points
This met expectations quite well. This was delicate, precise and subtle with beautiful soft notes, some limestone and stony aspects and some lovely dryness on the finish, along with tobacco and other smoked notes. Very elegant and sophisticated. The quality was readily apparent, though perhaps missing some power - I bet this sings so well in a stellar vintage vs. something average like 2012. I picked up another bottle of this recently at Costco, a magnum - will be fun to revisit this wine in a few years. 94++pts.
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11/29/2019 - CrocodileCab Likes this wine: 93 Points
I would match Parker’s 94 on this, but it just falls off a little on the backend. Other than that, lovely lush, creamy, blackberry and cherry compote. Quite full bodied, medium-low acid, still some tannins being worked out, but beautiful to drink now. Slow oxed several hours. I was going to decant, but the initial taste after opening was so explosive I decided against it. Drink or hold for another ten I’d guess.
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11/12/2019 - BenBlu Likes this wine: 92 Points
Side by side Catsello del Rampolla 2010 this too was obviously very primary. It drank nicely on the fruit though with a tough of dark chocolate and truffle aromas emerging. Too early for my taste here too and my preference would be to revisit in 10 years. But its drinking beautifully for people who love primary fruit.
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6/23/2019 - RBAIKIN Likes this wine: 94 Points
beautiful pomerol, still lots of years
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7/20/2018 - DrewWongo Likes this wine:
Day 1 (PnP as tasted and it was accessible) - Very aromatic and elegant nose, burgundian like palate. Long finish. Great alone, didn't pair well with the the steak (med rare wagyu tenderloin) though.
Day 2 - Similar nose as Day 1, but palate changed to be fuller with similar finish.
Day 3 - The wine went downhill.
Final thoughts: Great wine that can be enjoyed alone. Might improve slightly. QPR is not there for me currently in my country's market as the price is higher than the Rauzan-Segla 2015.
*Recorked using Vacuvin stopper
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4/14/2018 - SHP2003 wrote:
The word is out on this wine and I predict it will only go up in $ over the near, mid and long term. It is so underpriced versus its neighbors (which are mostly inferior in the vintage) that it has nowhere to go but up.
Only a few months ago, the 2012 Le Gay was available for around $60 and it's already up to $75-80. My gut tells me it is headed closer to $100+ very shortly (I just looked and it is already trading for over $100 in the US).
Why?
Once collectors (and critics) reevaluate the wine, they will understand that it's at a quality level normally reserved for examples of Pomerol at twice the $ (or more).
What I'm trying to say is, after tasting most of the top 2012's again in August, the Le Gay was one of the finest wines in all of Bordeaux.
What's in the bottle does not lie.
Parker: "This is a beautiful, dense, meaty, purple-colored wine, with loads of earth, iron, blackberry and cassis fruit. It is full-bodied, rich and opulent with great length, terrific purity and surprisingly sweeter tannin than I would expect from this terroir that tends to produce a masculine style of wine. Impressive and backward, this Le Gay should drink well for at least 20 years. 2015 - 2035. 94+pts"
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5/6/2017 - mnuncorked Likes this wine: 92 Points
A deep ruby color with fantastic fragrances of earth and chocolate.
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2/17/2017 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
2 hours of air is all that's needed to bring out the truffle, chocolate covered plum, boysenberry, mint, coconut and violet aromatics. Soft, polished, tannins, with a slight dusty texture in the long plummy finish wrap everything up nicely. Still young, but it's already delicious. Good now, but this will really be rocking with another 5 years or so of age.
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12/21/2016 - thunberg wrote: 90 Points
@BYOB - tasted blind
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11/2/2016 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 92 Points
From a 3-liter. Concentrated, sweet fruit, layered and fruit driven. Cassis, black cherry, licorice, lavender. Lacked precision and finesse and veered a bit too close to cloying for me to merit the extra 2-3 points I see from some revered raters, but that's just my palate I think.
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5/10/2016 - Jeff Leve wrote: 94 Points
Concentrated, deep, soft, fresh, polished ripe fruits, smooth, silky tannins and a long rich, character driven finish. Give it at least 5 -7 more more years and you’ll have a stunning, decadent treat. For a Pomerol of this quality, this still sells for a song.
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7/25/2015 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Full bodied, rich, concentrated and showing good intensity, the nose pops with smoke, licorice, cocoa and ripe black and blue fruits. There is a vibrant, fresh, polished center of juicy, sweet, black and dark red fruits that really shines. This has really improved since bottling and is one of the top Pomerol's of the vintage. For a wine of this quality from Pomerol, it's a steal in the marketplace!
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9/16/2014 - Philippe_C wrote: 93 Points
Light nose of black fruit... taste of very concentrated black fruit, nice lenght, chocolate, hint of cutted grass
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3/30/2014 - dcwino wrote: 94 Points
2013 editon of En Primeur - Kelly and Kevin’s excellent adventure; 3/26/2014-4/1/2014 (Mostly in Bordeaux and a night in Paris): This is developing nicely. Fresh blackberries, blackberry liquor, truffle, mineral and earth. Excellent concentration and balance.
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7/5/2013 - johnh1001 wrote: 94 Points
Tasted at the chateau. Very bright nose of red fruit, violet and chocolate. Wow, the violet is just so perfurmed. More dark fruit and chocolate on the palate. Almost modern. Wonderful texture though a slight bite on the finish. I can't get over how much I like the nose.
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4/26/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 94 Points
For the 2012 vintage, the wine of Chateau Le Gay was produced using the same methods as they employ at La Violette. 90% of the fruit was vinified in barrel. From a blend that is the same as the plantings at 90% Merlot at 10% Cabernet Franc, the wine reached 13.5% alcohol. Deep ruby in color, the wine offers licorice, oak, earth, jammy black raspberry, chocolate and floral notes. On the palate, the wine is rich, round, supple and lush. Each sip is packed with ripe and overripe black cherries, licorice and dark chocolate. The tannins are ripe while the finish expands, moving from cherry to black raspberry and spice. Sadly, Catherine Pere Verge, the grand woman of Pomerol passed away the day before she was going to present her wines at a dinner for friends and members of the press. She will be missed. 93-95 Pts
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4/7/2013 - dcwino wrote: 94 Points
2012 En Primeur - Kelly and Kevin’s excellent adventure; 4/4/2013-4/9/2013 (Bordeaux, France): Subtle and delicate nose expression, truffle and black fruits. Silky and round palate, excellent balance and noticeable yet nicely integrated tannins.
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