Buying options
Tasting notes
The 2015 Le Gay has a strong very vegetal nose so much so that a second bottle is called for...and it is identical. The palate is dry and again, very green with a bitter finish. This is a very vexing showing and from two bottles? Was there some problem in bottling? Is there a lot of under-ripe fruit that was excluded from the impressive barrel samples? Alarm bells ring. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.
Critic scores
Average Score
The Wine Advocate
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Tasted blind. Green, metallic nose. Second bottle the same. Sweet and herbaceous on the palate but the nose would put people off, I fear. Light and fresh. Pinched finish. (JR)
I am not sure what to say about the 2015 Le Gay. One bottle was corked, while a second was hugely disappointing. The wine I tasted (from the non-corked bottle) was green, oaky and excessively vegetal, with none of the rich, intense fruit I saw in the en primeur sample. Perhaps I was very unlucky. Readers will want to taste the 2015 before buying it. Tasted two times.
A more elegant, lightly textured effort than some top past vintages, the 2015 Le Gay comes from a tiny estate in Pomerol and is 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc brought up all in new oak. It has terrific complexity in its darker fruits, tobacco leaf, violets, new leather and even meaty aromas and flavors. These carry to a full-bodied, perfectly balanced 2015 that has fine, fine tannin and a great finish. It will fill in with 3-4 years of cellaring and keep for two decades. Tasted once. I’ve always loved the wines from this tiny estate in Pomerol, and both the 2014 and 2015 are wines worth seeking out. While not reviewed here, readers should try to find bottles of the 2009. This is an incredible bottle of wine that’s up with some of the finest wines out there.
About the producer
There’s been lots of change at Ch. le Gay since the Parent family arrived in 2002 – with vineyards replanted, the cellars renovated and the winemaking adjusted. No surprise, perhaps, that quality is now higher than ever.