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About the Wine
If you love Cabernet Franc, this wine will make you want to sing arias.
Château Petit Gravet is located on the “Right Bank” of Bordeaux and it happens to be a neighbor of Chateau Canon and La Gaffeliere, with a beautiful terroir with deep, sand and clay soils and an extension of 6.1 acres planted with 80% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot. Actually, one of the highest Cab Franc concentrations in all of Bordeaux is right here in this Château! The estate has old vines, some up to 70 years old.
Catherine Papon-Nouvelle, the owner and winemaker of Château Petit Gravet also own Clos St. Julien and Chateau Gaillard in St. Emilion. The wine and the vineyard are certified as organic; No pesticides, herbicides or any other chemicals are used.
The 2015 vintage of Petit Gravet Ainé is considered one of the best of this Château. This wine is made from 70-year-old vines and is aged in new French oak barrels for 18 months.
Tasting Notes: Deep garnet-purple color. Aromas of mature fruit, more like jam, mocha, espresso, white pepper, and mint. The palate is intense and very firm, with a long finish. Pair this wine with veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes. Best enjoyed in the first 5-20 years of life.
Reviews
From a great, yet tiny, sandy/clay terroir near Canon-la-Gaffelière and a unique Cabernet Franc-dominated blend mixed with 20% Merlot aged in new barrels, the 2015 Château Petit Gravet Aîné boasts a complex, exotic bouquet of incense, spring flowers, and dried herbs, with a beautiful core of black cherry and plum fruit. The palate is where this gem shines, however, and it’s sensationally pure, layered, and elegant, with a full-bodied, sexy style that just begs to be drunk. Give bottles a few years and enjoy over the following 15-20 years. This is an awesome wine brought to the US by American merchant Jeffrey Davies. ~95 Jeb Dunnuck
Catherine Papon-Nouvel's 2015 Petit Gravet Ainé boasts serious richness and intensity from start to finish. Mocha, espresso, raspberry jam, white pepper and mint are some of the many notes that are pushed forward in this unctuous, super-ripe St.-Émilion. The summer heat appears to have baked out the Cabernet Franc aromatics that are such a signature here. Today, the 2015 is incredibly tightly wound. It will be interesting to see where things ultimately shake out. For now, the 2015 is an embryonic wine built on intensity and ripeness. I would like to see a little more of the finesse this site is capable of. Petit Gravet Ainé is 80% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot done in 100% new oak. Tasted two times. ~ 93 Antonio Galloni
Composed of 80% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot matured in 100% new French oak barrels for 18 months, the deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Petit Gravet Aine is provocatively scented of red currant jelly, raspberry tart, and blackberry preserves with hints of dried roses, stewed tea, and dried herbs. Medium to full-bodied, very firm, and grainy with a lovely perfumed red fruit expression, it finishes long and minerally. This needs 2 to 3 years, at least! ~ 93 Wine Advocate
About the Wine
Chateau Saint Pierre dates back to the 17th century. Henri Martin purchased the classified Fourth Growth Medoc estate in 1982. Henri Martin's family has a long history in the Bordeaux region, dating back more than 300 years. Today Chateau Saint Pierre is managed by Jean-Louis Triaud, who also manages Chateau Gloria and owns the Girondins de Bordeaux, the professional football team of Bordeaux.
The majority of their vines are located near the village of Saint Julien not far from Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou which retails for $200 a bottle. On average their vines are 50 years old. Saint-Julien has the highest concentration of cru classés with 11 over 900 hectares.
Chateau Saint Pierre is one of the few classified growths that does not produce a second wine. With complete focus on the Grand Vin and leading the use of technology in winemaking, it is no surprise this Grand Vin hailed a 'Bravo!' from multiple critics. Chateau Saint Pierre Saint-Julien was one of the first estates to use satellite imagery to help identify when parcels are ready to pick.
Aging: 14 to 16 months in French Oak
Tasting Notes: Red Wine. 75% Cabernet Sauvignon 15% Merlot 10% Cabernet Franc. Full-bodied, round, and refined. The nose shows espresso, blackberry, and floral notes.
Reviews
This 17-hectare estate has been rejuvenated by owner Jean-Louis Triaud and is certainly producing some of the top wines from the appellation today. I tasted the deep, inky-colored 2015 Château Saint-Pierre twice and it’s reminiscent of the 2010, only with more elegance. In 2015 the wine is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, and 6% Cabernet Franc and it spent 14 months in 50% new and 50% once used barrels. Chocolate-covered dark fruits, damp earth, tobacco leaf, and lead pencil shaving-like notes emerge from this huge, concentrated beauty that has building tannin and a huge mid-palate. It’s an incredible wine that builds with time in the glass, has no hard edges, and is going to 3-4 decades of life. Bravo! ~97 Jeb Dunnuck
The 2015 Saint-Pierre offers more fruit on the nose than the Gruaud Larose with quite fabulous blackberry laced with pencil lead and tobacco. There is real joie de vivre and intensity here. The palate is medium-bodied with fine but quite firm tannin, very well balanced and pure with a gentle but insistent, mineral-driven, quite sinewy finish that is an absolute treat. This comes highly recommended. Tasted twice both in London and Bordeaux at the property. Bravo. ~94 Wine Advocate
This wine has a very toasty style, with spice and wood tannins that give an extracted character with some bitterness. That contrasts with the fruit that is developing, and it seems that the wood will integrate over time. Drink from 2025. ~92 Wine Enthusiast
About the Wine
Viña Tabalí is located in the Limarí Valley in Chile, known to be one of the most promising Valleys in all of Chile. It’s worth noting that although BHW staff have tasted thousands of wine from Chile, we feature only a small handful that pass our stringent tasting panel.
This property originally founded by Guillermo Luksic is currently managed by his son Nicolás Luksic, and is constantly improving with new growth and innovation. “What we seek is to produce high-quality wines that demonstrate their origin, that when tasted, transfer the person to the soil and climate that characterizes the Tabalí vineyards. That was what my father always wanted to convey”, says Nicolás.
Tabalí has a strong focus on quality. The Winery is a small-scale, exclusive, family winery focused on details. It is built in such a way that the fruit and wine are transported by gravity. The winery aims to avoid any unnecessary pumping and relies on nature to do the work wherever possible.
Felipe Müller, Tabalí’s winemaker since 2006, was born and raised in Santiago, Chile’s capital. Today, at the age of 41, he is considered one of the country´s most influential and important winemakers.
In 2001 he joined Viña De Martino as the second winemaker, in charge of viticulture as well as the vinification for red and white wines. In this winery, he worked with winemaker Marcelo Retamal, and formed a bold and renowned "Wine Dupla". Together they discovered new wines, studied various valleys, regions of Chile, and vinify around 350 vineyards throughout the country.
Felipe harvested two famous Chateaux Grand Cru Classé in Saint Emilion, France: Chateau Canon La Gaffeliere and Chateau La Mondotte.
Felipe Müller was named ‘Best Winemaker of the Year’ in the sixteenth version of “Guía de Vinos de Chile 2010”, Chile’s oldest and most prestigious wine industry publication. This distinction was an important recognition for the enthusiasm, passion, and dedication he puts in crafting wines. “Wine is my passion and an important part of my life. I feel capable of leveraging the knowledge I’ve built throughout these many years", says Felipe.
In the year 2011, Felipe was appointed Manager Director, keeping his position as Chief Winemaker. From then Felipe was not only responsible for the quality of the wines but also for the global strategy of the company.
In January 2014 Felipe Müller was chosen ‘Best Young Winemaker’ (next to Aurelio Montes who was chosen Best Senior Winemaker).
The grape to produce 2017 Tabali Malbec-Cabernet Franc Vetas Blancas comes from El Espinal vineyard, in the coastal area of the Valley. This vineyard is located in the oldest alluvial terrace in the coastal sector of the Limarí Valley. With a cool climate, alluvial soils, and volcanic rock compounds, the terroir of this area is ideal for producing high-end wines.
2017 Tabali Malbec-Cabernet Franc Vetas Blancas is aged in 100% French Oak Barrels for 14 months.
Tasting Notes: 60% Malbec, 40% Cabernet Franc. Deep red color. Elegant on the nose, with aromas of red fruits such as blueberries, cherries, floral and spicy notes. Great structure on the palate, firm tannins, and perfect balance. Pair this wine with a nice grilled burger or pasta.
Reviews
The 2017 Vetas Blancas Malbec-Cabernet Franc is a new red blend in the Vetas Blancas range that is made with a combination of grapes that is getting very popular across the Andes in Argentina. It was produced with grapes from their El Espinal vineyard in Limarí, a blend of 60% Malbec and 40% Cabernet Franc. It's very impressive and really integrated, with the two grapes complementing each other and coming through as harmonious and with very good freshness, combining power and elegance. It's floral and spicy, with fine tannins and a dry, serious finish. It seems to transcend the vintage and the price point. Great value. 9,000 bottles were filled in August 2019. ~ 92 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate
Violet-like flowers and forest leaves shroud fresh red berries in attractive and fragrant style, leading to a smooth, supple palate with glossy dark berries and a very smooth, finely chalky tannin texture. This is very drinkable! ~ 92 James Suckling
About the Wine
From the birthplace of pizza, San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella di bufala, and so many more gastronomic treasures comes this regional red wine in Campania.
This wine is 100% Aglianico, produced by La Bollina. Andrea Bernardini is the passionate consultant winemaker who has hit numerous home runs. He graduated from Pisa, one of the best schools of oenology in Italy, in 2007. He earned his chops at Poggio Bonelli and Ruffino in Tuscany and trained in South Africa, Romania and Greece. After several years of experiences he is now a flying winemaker blending tradition and modern techniques to obtain high quality wines with respect to the expression of the different grapes and terroir in which he works.
Tasting Notes: Red wine. Berries, cherries and black cherries are perfectly blended with the soft notes of wood that give this wine the pleasantness typical of the area from which the grapes come. Fruity notes are mixed with the vanilla and mocha sensations coming from aging, good palate, full body and roundness gives this wine an excellent drinkability.
If you're looking for an any time wine, rich with blueberry fruit, a touch of herbs and mocha, this is the wine for you. Very little oak on this wine makes it a perfect match for a variety of foods or on its own.
Reviews
98pts, Luca Maroni's Annual Guide, "I Migliori Vini Italiani"
