Château Les Gravières – 2011 – Saint Emilion Grand Cru

Red wine with a very youthful appearance here, purple-blue core, not a lot of evolution. Intense nose here, high ripeness with juicy dark blackberry, plum, cassis. A hint of oak, some roasted and spicy notes, but more emphasis on fruit. Very high level of concentration here, a great wealth of dark fruit like blackberry, cassis, plum. Grainy tannin, but still with a lot of extract present, and a well-preserved acidity as well. I don’t notice any oak on the palate, just a slight hint of vanilla on the finish. So a wine I would call very rich or intense, modern style, nicely polished with a good length, good purity of fruit. The only thing this would need is another few years in the cellar because it certainly has the properties to develop well; it’s just a bit massive and young, but doubtlessly a very ambitious and well-made wine.

Tasted by the Best Sommelier of the World, Andreas Larsson.