2018 Chateau Petit Gravet Aine 0,75l Chateau Gaillard 'BIO'
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Tasting notes
The 2018 Petit Gravet Aîné has a lovely, quite sumptuous bouquet of a mélange of red and black fruit mingling with peppermint and herbal aromas; there is fine definition here. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins, demonstrating more density and grip than I expected. Grainy toward the cedar and graphite finish. This is a well-crafted Saint-Émilion that should age with style. Superb.
Critic scores
Neal Martin
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
The Cabernet Franc-dominated 2018 Château Petit Gravet Aîné (there's 20% Merlot) comes from the upper plateau in Saint-Emilion and was raised in new French oak. It's handled its élevage nicely and has just subtle vanilla and spicy oak notes as well as impressive red, black, and blue fruits intermixed with notes of acacia flowers, spice box, forest floor, and tobacco. Tighter and more backward from bottle than barrel, it's medium to full-bodied and has a balanced, elegant texture, beautiful tannins, and a great finish. It needs 3-5 years of bottle age and should have two decades of overall longevity.
The 2018 Petit Gravet Aîné dazzles right out of the bottle. Franc signatures are front and center in Saint-Émilion that boasts magnificent aromatic presence as well as depth. Rose petal, mocha, kirsch, menthol and sage are some of the many notes that open with some coaxing. A few years in bottle will do wonders for the tannins. Aside from the wine's striking beauty, Petit Gravet Aîné is one of the most unique, distinctive wines in Bordeaux, the sort of wine that remains seared on your memory. In a word: magnificent!