Château Le Gay 2014

The 2014 Le Gay is blessed with a fabulous bouquet of brambly red berry fruit tinged with black truffle, roasted chestnut and just a hint of hung game. There is marvelous energy here, the aromatics keeping you engaged. The palate is medium-bodied with superb purity, certainly very well balanced with a fine bead of acidity. Sure, there is a veneer of vanilla oak to be assimilated on the finish, but there is such depth and persistence that this will be no problem. This surpasses my expectations from barrel and continues the fine form of this Pomerol estate.

Very ripe, rounded and creamy in feel, with flattering plum sauce and raspberry and boysenberry pâte de fruit flavors. Flecks of anise and black tea impart energy, keeping this focused and driven through the finish. A flashy display of fruit. Drink now through 2030. 1,250 cases made.

Smells very Le Gay – perfumed oak, potpourri and caramelised toast. Juicy and more alive on the palate than the nose suggests, but also a little pinched and compact, a sense of tension and closure on the mid palate, like it's still not ready to play, or it's lost all its fun fruity fat and is left with the bare bones. It's delicate and graceful in the sense there's nothing harsh on show, but also doesn't feel as if it's come out of its shell. Ends a bit short with liquorice, clove spice, tobacco, dark chocolate and blackcurrant elements.

Blueberry-skin and stone aromas follow through to a medium body, firm tannins and a juicy finish. Shy but still shows wonderful depth and polish. Better in 2021.

The 2014 Le Gay is soft, silky and inviting. Crushed flowers, sweet tobacco, mint, licorice and dried cherry are nicely layered. Today, the 2014 shows quite a bit less density than it did as a barrel sample. I had hoped it would fill out a bit more over time, but that has not happened yet.

Medium bodied, silky textured, elegant, soft, fresh and reasonably forward, requiring maybe 5 years or so for all the exotically textured plums, cherries, wet earth, truffles and flowers to develop.

90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc. 27 hl/ha. Dark garnet, fairly dense in the middle, ruby rim. The bouquet is expansive, showing ripe red cherries with an enticing, very fresh scent of lemon balm and chamomile; on the second nose you find thyme, verbena, and Dominican tobacco. The nose is unlike any other Pomerol cru, in a very positive way. On the palate it’s creamy and powerful, with plenty of pep and breed, yet it also shows sufficient finesse. At least when compared with other contenders of the same caliber; the finish still brings ample muscle and a finely grained note. This is a very classic Le Gay that reminds me of its own 1985 vintage. I tasted Le Gay three times. When I visited the estate, I also tasted the second wine, Manoir de Gay. That one was simply great fun. It’s not always the case that a second wine just uses all the leftovers. This 2014 Le Gay is, alongside Trotanoy, one of the best Pomerols!

90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc. 27 hl/ha. Dark garnet, fairly dense in the middle, ruby rim. The bouquet is expansive, showing ripe red cherries with a seductive, very fresh scent of lemon balm and chamomile; on the second nose you find thyme, verbena, and Dominican tobacco. The nose stands apart from any other Pomerol cru, and in a very positive way. On the palate it’s creamy and powerful, with plenty of pep and breed, yet it also shows enough finesse. At least compared with other competitors of the same caliber; in the finish you still find sufficient muscle and a fine, stony-kerned note. This is a very classic Le Gay that reminds me of its own 1985 vintage. I tasted Le Gay three times. When I was at the estate, I also tasted the second wine, Manoir de Gay. It was simply great fun. It’s not always the case that a déclassification just means tossing in all the leftovers. This Le Gay 2014 is, with Trotanoy, one of the best Pomerols!

(90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 27 hl/ha, production 21,000 btls.) Fine floral, fresh, dense, powerful and complex bouquet, black cassis, currants, subtle licorice, flint. Dense, velvety, multi-layered palate with a creamy texture, plenty of fine tannins, dense, well-muscled structure, dark, varied aromatics, very long, dense finish with plenty of lingering flavors. 18/20 2021 - 2036

The angularity to the tannins found with Montviel is again present in Le Gay, although it has a compensatingly higher juiciness scale, with a mouthwatering finish to dominant cassis fruits. The challenges of 2014 in this corner of Bordeaux are evident though, with a slight dip through the mid-palate, before heading to an earthy, black tea finish. Pere Verge owner.

The 2014 Le Gay is medium to deep garnet-brick in color. Medicinal/iodine scents soon give way to underlying notes of dried cherries and tree bark with a waft of Sichuan pepper. The medium-bodied palate is a little thin in the mid-palate, with a chewy texture and rusticity on the finish. Tasted blind with the Southwold Group in London in February 2024.

Slender depth with a taut, fresh balance, this generous, well-grounded wine has superb dimension.

A dense, tight wine with lovely aromas that leans into freshness, good volume, pure fruit, but it dries out a little on the finish. Suitable for medium-term aging.

Ruby red with garnet highlights. Expressive bouquet that perfectly balances oak ageing and fruit. Caramel, chocolate and mint. After aeration, a touch of prunes and raspberries. Fruity, silky attack. The body integrates the structure and tannins well, bringing them together ideally. Fruity, persistent finish.

The nose reveals small notes of blackberry and blackcurrant, accompanied by subtle hints of undergrowth and truffle. The palate is juicy, very fresh, racy, and offers lovely tension. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of juicy strawberry, blackcurrant, and, more subtly, chocolate. The tannins are a little grainy. Good length.

Dark, intense, and vibrant color. Fruity, delicate, pure, and creamy nose. Silky on the attack, extremely fruity mid-palate, developing spicy, powerful, frankly hedonistic, with licorice notes and barely oaky on the finish. A beautiful, full wine. The entire harvest was put into barrel and fermented in barrel: a technical feat, yielding greater tactile softness. Blend: 90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc.