Château Le Gay 2024

Intense nose with pronounced roasted notes, almond, cassis, fruit tea, cool minerality; compact on the palate, structured, fine tannins, top-notch acidity, pleasing length, roasted notes from the barrique on the aftertaste. Should improve further with maturation.

Ripe and heady aromatics on the nose – signature Le Gay scents. Tannins make the first impression, massy and really quite filling before softening quickly and melting into the sides of the mouth. This has a clean and cool focus, with clarity to the blue fruit, but is missing a touch more vibrancy and lift. Nevertheless, it has structure and a sense of refinement to the expression. Not quite as sustained as some in terms of brightness, more glossy and rich with clear oak aspects that should settle in time.

Flowers, chocolate, truffle, black cherries, espresso, and licorice are at work in the perfume. On the palate, the wine is bright, firm, fresh, and lively, with cocoa overtones to the plums, espresso, and earthy palate. The wine blends 83.3% Merlot with 16.7% Cabernet Franc. 13.5% ABV. Harvesting took place September 19-September 27. Drink from 2029-2045. 91-93 Pts

A dark, mysterious nose with aromas of black plum and olive, interlaced with a few notes of rose petal. The freshness on the palate delights with juicy fruit notes, a lively character and precise acidity, leading to a mouthwatering finish, chiseled like a chalk sculpture.

(81% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc) The nose is fruity, elegant, and offers lovely finesse within its power, a certain velvetiness, a finely judged peppery edge, and a delicate texture. It reveals notes of pulpy blackberry, fleshy blue fruits, and, more lightly, juicy/pulpy cherry, accompanied by hints of cornflower and lilac, fine touches of camphor, discreet notes of fresh almond and Sichuan pepper, a hint of graphene, cocoa nibs, and a subtle touch of bergamot. After aeration, subtle hints of star anise and Cubeb pepper appear. The palate is beautifully mineral, fresh, and offers good definition, precision, a tangy spine, energy, a fine, racy grain, and a certain silkiness. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of pulpy/juicy blackberry, blackcurrant, and, more lightly, crisp Quetsche plum, combined with touches of violet and camphor, as well as hints of toast, toasted almond, fine touches of Timut pepper, and a subtle, almost blood-orange note in the background. The tannins are elegant, silky, finely sappy, saline, and fresh. Good length and persistence.