2021 Château Vray Croix de Gay, Pomerol, Bordeaux

2021 Château Vray Croix de Gay, Pomerol, Bordeaux

Product: 20218123187
Prices start from £58.00 per bottle (75cl). Buying options
2021 Château Vray Croix de Gay, Pomerol, Bordeaux

Buying options

Available for delivery or collection. Pricing includes duty and VAT.

Description

Merlot 80%, Cabernet Franc 20%.

A rather complex history means that this property is less well known than it deserves to be. It’s now under the same ownership as Calon Ségur (the Suravenir insurance group; they bought it from the owners of Latour), and so a new chapter begins. With vineyards near La Fleur-Pétrus, Le Gay and Trotanoy, the potential is evident. With Calon’s excellent Technical Director, Vincent Millet, overseeing matters, the 2021 here has a tense and expressively high-toned bouquet. The palate is assertive and creamy, growing in flavour and depth. This is an impressive effort from a seemingly rarely seen property.

Drink 2026 - 2040

Our score: 17/20

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Critics reviews

Jane Anson91/100

This has a ton of freshness and vivacity, with bright blueberry and raspberry fruits, and supple tannins that are leaning into the vintage, not trying too hard to over-extract but letting the juice through, along with some Pomerol glamour. Good stuff. Jean Claude Berrouet consultant, Vincent Millet director, Penelope Godefroy technical director, organic farming. Tasted twice.

Drink 2026 - 2040

Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com (July 2022)

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Neal Martin, Vinous90-92/100

The 2021 Vray Croix de Gay is perfumed on the nose, offering truffle-tinged red fruit and a touch of damp, loamy soil. The palate is well balanced with fine acidity, taut and fresh, leading to a light, slightly attenuated finish, yet it has plenty of freshness and should gain weight in barrel.

Drink 2027 - 2042

Neal Martin, Vinous.com (May 2022)

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Antonio Galloni, Vinous88-90/100

The 2021 Vray Croix de Gay opens with a good burst of energy, but it ultimately lacks both depth and persistence. Angular contours are hard to get past. Those edges are especially evident given the wine's light centre of fruit.

Drink 2023 - 2031

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (May 2022)

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Wine Advocate90-92/100

Charming and sensual, the 2021 Vray Croix de Gay offers up aromas of plums, sweet berries and peonies, followed by a medium to full-bodied, supple and seamless palate. A blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, this generous Pomerol will offer a broad drinking window.

William Kelley, Wine Advocate (April 2022)

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James Suckling92/100

Fresh currants, red cherries, white pepper and some nice green olives on the nose. Quite juicy and medium-bodied on the palate with fine, silky tannins and a succulent finish. Not a rich Pomerol but it shows excellent balance. From organically grown grapes. Delicious now, but this should hold very well in the next five to six years.

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (January 2024)

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Decanter91/100

Beautiful florality and sweetness on the nose, I love the fragrance here. This is lively and floral on the palate too with tannins that are smooth but provide a supple grip and structure. It's not the most weighty in the mouth, or layered, but does have well-sculpted fruit and well-balanced acidity. A hit of cinnamon, liquorice and clove comes in on the finish. Gentle, with lots of tantalising aspects which will benefit from ageing.

Drink 2025 - 2049

Georgina Hindle, Decanter.com (April 2022)

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About this WINE

Château Vray Croix de Gay

Château Vray Croix de Gay

Located in the Pomerol appellation of Bordeaux, Château Vray Croix de Gay's history dates back to the 18th century when it was part of the larger Château La Croix de Gay estate. Over time, the property was divided, and Château Vray Croix de Gay emerged as a separate entity. The estate is currently owned by the Lasserre family, who have been involved in the wine business for several generations.

The vineyards of Château Vray Croix de Gay cover approximately 4 hectares and are planted with 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon vines. The estate practices sustainable viticulture, preserving the natural environment and producing high-quality grapes.

The winemaking is overseen by renowned winemaker Michel Rolland, known for his expertise in crafting rich and expressive wines. The wines are typically characterised by their elegance, complexity, and ageing potential.

While Château Vray Croix de Gay is not classified as a Grand Cru Classé in the Bordeaux wine classification system, it is considered one of the top estates in Pomerol.

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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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Merlot/Cabernet Franc

Merlot/Cabernet Franc

Merlot and Cabernet Franc are grape varieties commonly used in Bordeaux-style blends, particularly in the Bordeaux region of France. When these two grapes are blended, they can create a wine that combines the best characteristics of each variety.

Merlot is known for its smoothness, soft tannins, and ripe fruit flavours. It often contributes black cherry, plum, and chocolate flavours to the blend. The grapes are relatively easy to grow and ripen earlier than other Bordeaux varieties, making them versatile for blending.

Cabernet Franc, on the other hand, adds structure, depth, and complexity to the blend. It typically brings aromas of red fruits such as raspberry and strawberry, along with herbal notes like bell pepper and tobacco. These grapes have thinner skins and can be more challenging to cultivate, requiring specific growing conditions to reach their full potential.

When Merlot and Cabernet Franc are combined, the result is a well-balanced wine with various flavours and aromas. The blend often exhibits a Bordeaux wine's medium to full body, along with a smooth texture and moderate tannins. The specific flavour profile can vary depending on the proportions of each grape in the blend and the terroir and winemaking techniques employed.

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When is a wine ready to drink?

We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.

Not ready

These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.

Ready - youthful

These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.

Ready - at best

These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.

Ready - mature

These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.