2009 Château Le Gay, Pomerol, Bordeaux

2009 Château Le Gay, Pomerol, Bordeaux

Product: 20098124302
 
2009 Château Le Gay, Pomerol, Bordeaux

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Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
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Description

A real explosion of aroma and flavour. Burgundian red fruit nuance. Good depth of succulent fruit. Silky, suave tannins. Persistent and long.
(Steven Spurrier - Decanter - April 2010)

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Critics reviews

Wine Advocate98+/100
The deep garnet colored 2009 Le Gay simply sings of minted cassis, baked plums and blueberry pie with touches of cardamom, cloves, tree bark and pencil shavings plus a waft of lavender. The palate is medium to full-bodied and exquisitely textured with satiny tannins and bold freshness framing the vibrant, multilayered fruit, finishing long and perfumed.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown - 14/03/2019 Read more
Jancis Robinson MW17+/20
Dark crimson. Very gamey and ambitious with amazingly soft tannins. This one virtually crawls towards the consumer asking them to love it. Interesting chalky finish. Some freshness. Pretty damned good! But for early consumption.
(Jancis Robinson MW - jancisrobinson.com - April 2010) Read more
Wine Spectator93-96/100
Blueberry, sea shell and blackberry aromas. Full-bodied, with chewy tannins, yet polished and cool, with a long, racy finish. Dense, with a solid core of everything.
(James Suckling - Wine Spectator - Apr 2010) Read more
Robert Parker96+/100
Tiny yields of 25 hectoliters per hectare and a final blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc have produced an enormously concentrated, black/purple-colored wine exhibiting notes of roasted meats, smoked game, blackberries, coffee, incense and forest floor.

This distinctive, large-scaled, viscous, thick Pomerol may be as concentrated as some of this estate’s all-time classics (1947 and 1950). I am puzzled by why I could not see this a few years ago. In any event, this is one of the most profound Le Gay’s ever produced. Forget it for at least a decade and drink it over the following half century.

Wow! Did I underestimate this wine from barrel! I remember when tasting it at that time, Michel Rolland, who consults at this property, told me he thought it was the best they have made to date. After having it three times from barrel, I could not see that. However, cask aging has certainly been beneficial to this masculine, backward wine. From bottle, the 2009 Le Gay is remarkable

As always, there is an elegance to the La Fleur de Gay, but the tell-tale flowery, raspberry jam, and blueberry pie notes jump from the glass along with hints of graphite and truffle. Deep, rich, full-bodied and textured, with sweet tannin and a stunning elegance and purity, this beauty that can be approached now or cellared for 20-25 years.
(Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - Feb 2012) Read more

About this WINE

Chateau le Gay

Chateau le Gay

Château Le Gay is a Pomerol property, which is now beginning to realise its potential after many years of underperforming. Previously owned by sisters Marie and Thérèse Robin, Le Gay is now owned and run by their niece and nephew, Sylvie and Jacques Guinaudeau. They also own Château Lafleur. Le Gay consists of 9 hectares of 40-year-old vines planted just to the north of the Pomerol plateau.

Yields are minuscule, often being as low as 15-20 hectolitres per hectare, and it is this, combined with the old age of the vines, that give the wines their depth and complexity. Typically the Le Gay is a blend of 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Franc. It is aged in oak casks for 18-20 months. Le Gay is a Pomerol property on the rise.

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Pomerol

Pomerol

Pomerol is the smallest of Bordeaux's major appellations, with about 150 producers and approximately 740 hectares of vineyards. It is home to many bijou domaines, many of which produce little more than 1,000 cases per annum.

Both the topography and architecture of the region is unremarkable, but the style of the wines is most individual. The finest vineyards are planted on a seam of rich clay which extends across the gently-elevated plateau of Pomerol, which runs from the north-eastern boundary of St Emilion. On the sides of the plateau, the soil becomes sandier and the wines lighter.

For a long time Pomerol was regarded as the poor relation of St Emilion, but the efforts of Jean-Pierre Moueix in the mid-20th century brought the wine to the attention of more export markets, where its fleshy, intense and muscular style found a willing audience, in turn leading to surge in prices led by the demand for such limited quantities.

There is one satellite region to the immediate north, Lalande-de-Pomerol whose wines are stylistically very similar, if sometimes lacking the finesse of its neighbour. There has never been a classification of Pomerol wines.

Recommended Châteaux : Ch. Pétrus, Vieux Ch. Certan, Le Pin, Ch. L’Eglise-Clinet, Ch. La Conseillante, Ch. L’Evangile, Ch. Lafleur, Trotanoy, Ch. Nenin, Ch. Beauregard, Ch. Feytit-Clinet, Le Gay.

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Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.

In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.

In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and  Australia.

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