2023 Petit Gravet Aine
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Tasting notes
Darker black fruits, red cherries, leather, graphite, and sappy herbs all define the 2023 Château Petit Gravet Ainé, a Cabernet Franc-dominant Saint-Emilion based on 90% Cabernet Franc and 10% Merlot aged in 50% new French oak. Medium-bodied on the palate, it's nicely concentrated, with ripe yet certainly present tannins, well-integrated, fresher acidity, and outstanding length. Give it 2-3 years and it will keep for 15 years. Drink 2028-2043.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
More reviews and scores
The Cabernet-Franc-driven 2023 Petit Gravet Aîné is one of the most distinctive wines in Saint-Émilion. Crushed flowers, herbs, mint, sweet spice, pipe tobacco and rose petal lead into a core of vibrant red-toned fruit. I find the 2023 lacking just a bit in the mid-palate. Otherwise, it is a very pretty and engaging wine from proprietor Catherine Papon-Nouvel.
The 2023 Petit Gravet Ainé has a tightly wound bouquet that demands coaxing from the glass. Black fruit, wild hedgerow, tilled loamy scents emerge slowly. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, fleshy on the entry, more expressive than the aromatics with a little fieriness on the finish. Good density and body, though it requires more precision on the finish to deserve a higher score.
Ripe blue fruits, spring flowers, graphite, and a kiss of minerality all emerge from the 2023 Château Petit Gravet Aîné, a medium-bodied, incredibly elegant Saint-Emilion coming from sandier soils near Canon-La- Gaffelière. The purity of fruit, as well as the overall balance, are impressive. I think the cellar will be your friend on this one.