70% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Malbec. This is an absolute beauty. A fruity and friendly red that shows plenty of red berries, chocolate, and slightly toasted notes. The palate is rounded with elegant tannins.
“Plenty of purple fruit with dark chocolate and burnt orange, following through to a medium body with round, chewy tannins and a flavorful finish. Better in 2023.” ~91 James Suckling.
Lake Champlain Milk Chocolate Hearts
One bag of milk chocolate hearts wrapped in beautiful pink foils, packaged in a ready-to-share gift bag hand-tied with ribbon. Total piece count: approximately 20
Château Haut Gravier is a century-old estate located in Pugnac. This family-owned winery is the property of Christine Petit. The 50-acre vineyard is planted in beautiful clayey-gravelly soils, with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Malbec vines facing south-southwest and southeast. The result is healthy, deep wines, that show the impressive Côtes de Bourg’s terroir.
Christine is an advocate for sustainability. Since she took control of the winery 27 years ago, she implemented integrated winemaking and sustainable viticulture. Today, they have achieved the HVE3 (High Environmental Value (HVE) certification)
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
2020 Château Haut Gravier Bordeaux
6 bottles for $79.99 $13.33/bottle + $1.33/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $137.99 $11.50/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
TL;DR - This is not a pop-n-pour wine. This is a food wine that needs at least a half hour or more to breathe.
My wife and I and a friend sampled this wine together and shared notes.
Aroma: On initial pour, the wine was ambiguous and muted. There were hints of red fruit, but it was hidden behind a lot of alcohol. As it opened up, there was a complex of aromas. Red, bright berries predominated, comparable to a more restrained cherry Polaner All Fruit jam. Later in the meal, we were getting hints of anise.
Flavor profile: This wine was medium-plus in acidity, which was more than we expected for a Merlot-heavy Bourdeaux. I expected the Merlot to be light and bright fruit, which it was, but it leaned toward the zippiness of a Zinfandel without the heaviness. As it opened up, the tannins became more grippy; that and the tartness made it a great accompaniment for the food. As we were finishing our meal, I detected more savory notes and even some minerality. There was also a tart finish, almost cough syrup (in flavor, not viscosity).
One definite factor of the wine is the alcohol content. The label said it was 14.5%, and it showed in the wine. It made the wine more angular and more harsh than it needed to be. My experience with Bordeaux is in the 12.5% to 13% range, and the extra potency made it feel more unstructured, as if the alcohol was poorly integrated into the whole.
Food: As I said above, this wine is dying to accompany food. And it did itself proud with the sirloin tips and pearl onions smothered with a rich tomato-beef sauce on mashed potatoes. The acidity of the wine cut through the richness of the sauce nicely, making an amazing combination.
While I don’t think that this is the most expensive Bordeaux you could find, it was surprisingly complex. It would be a lovely food wine to have on hand to decant and pour.
Many thanks to WineDavid and Alice for the chance to rat this wine!
This Côtes de Bourg punches above its weight, offering a juicy mouthful of red fruit (think cherries and plums) with a hint of chocolate and toasty oak. The tannins are elegant, making it easy to drink now but with enough structure to hold for a few years.
A steal for everyday drinking or a crowd-pleasing party pour.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: chocolates, tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2020 Château Haut Gravier Bordeaux - $22 = 13.75%
Well looking north of the border some tasters from WineAlign.com had a go at this…
Michel Godel: 86 points. Value 2 stars. Integrated now, to a degree, yet wood has always been and will continue to forcefully be the rage. As vivid a Bordeaux as they come, value price notwithstanding as the glare continues to require sunglasses, or the palate protective equivalent. As in food because this wine is too intense without accompaniment. The truth is easier too handle nine months in but still a bit hard to swallow. Last tasted February 2023.
More than youthful, unforgiving at this stage, even reductive for Bordeaux wines. Dark fruit, ferric undertones, iodine, a squirt of soy and knowable wood spice. Baking mainly though this is quite the savoury example from the Côtes De Bourg. Lots of wood, some varnish and an ooze of tree sap. Not enough fruit to withstand all this shellac and shellacking. Drink 2023-2025. Tasted May 2022.
Sara d’Amato: 86 points. Value 3 stars. This well-priced Cotes de Bourg offers a great deal of juicy, ripe jammy plum compote. Bold although a touch soupy featuring wet leaf and stewed fruit. Very good concentration with some warmth on the finish. Ripe and ready to drink. Tasted June 2022.
Plump and still a youthful degree of fruit, this Cotes de Bourg offers notable sweetness and a generous oaky presence. An assemblage of 70% merlot, 10% cabernet, 5% sauvignon gris as well as 15% de malbec from the special clone created by M. Malbeck himself at the end of the 18th century, known locally as ‘cot’. Hold another year or 2 for a more mature and integrated expression. Sustainably made. Re-tasted February 2023.
Megha Jandhyala, Critic Understudy(?) 85 points. Value 2 stars. This is a deeply pigmented, concentrated Bordeaux. Oak flavours of cedar and spice lead and play a prominent role here, framing notes of very ripe dark plums, cooked blackberries, and neglected autumn leaves. The palate is medium-bodied and palpably sweet, with abrasive, chalky tannins. The finish is green and leafy. Tasted February 2023.
I’d like to thank Alice for choosing me to rat the Chateau Haut Gravier Cotes de Bourg and for shipping it in the narrow window of cool weather we were blessed with last week. It arrived uncooked! I let it rest on the counter, unopened for a day. Then I uncorked it, poured a glass, and re-corked the bottle for further review the next day.
Initial impressions
On the nose I detected tobacco, damp earth or soil, black plums, and hints of warming spices like clove, cinnamon, and cardamom.
Visually the wine is a very dark purple to garnet at the edge and it produces slow, thick legs.
The flavor was very dry and tannic with red raspberry fruit and a slight astringency of juniper berries.
Day Two
Next day it mellowed a lot. No longer heavily tannic. Has developed a sweetness on the front. Red and black juicy fruit. Plums and blackberries with leather and tobacco on the finish.
The nose had more red cedar wood/ juniper on it, but less earth. Fruit is coming off as dried, maybe a little raisiny. I liked it better the second day.
Day Three
Third day the wine was the same as on the 2nd day. I shared the last two glasses with a friend. We had it with a dinner of roasted chicken with apricots and olives. It paired really well with this complex and rich dish. My friend said she got cedar wood and dried fruit on the nose and soft tannins, jammy black fruits, and raisin flavors. She said she could identify the Malbec in the blend and really liked it. I agree. I also got a little black pepper on the finish.
My conclusion is that this wine has an old world constitution that really shined after aerating. Once it had opened up, it was delicious with subtle complexity, jammy dark fruit flavors, hints of leather and cedar wood. If I wasn’t in Florida with our afternoon temperatures in the mid 80s F, I would be in for a case.
@tnarg42 Yeah, really annoying that signature is required. I still don’t have my crappy chocolates because they attempted delivery yesterday while I was in a meeting. Lame.
2020 Chateau Haut Gravier Cotes de Bourg
Tasting Notes
Lake Champlain Milk Chocolate Hearts
Specs
What’s Included
6-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not for sale on winery website, $288/case MSRP
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, May 20 - Tuesday, May 21
2020 Château Haut Gravier Bordeaux
6 bottles for $79.99 $13.33/bottle + $1.33/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $137.99 $11.50/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
Yeah, that “what’s included” section is clearly hosed.
Working on corrections…
[edit] but you may have missed it…
@rjquillin What no chocolate? Just waiting on rat’s.
@danandlisa
6-bottles:
6x 2017 Mauricio Lorca Cabernet Sauvignon, Mendoza, Argentina
1x Lake Champlain Milk Chocolate Hearts, 5.9 oz
Case:
12x 2017 Mauricio Lorca Cabernet Sauvignon, Mendoza, Argentina
1x Lake Champlain Milk Chocolate Hearts, 5.9 oz
2020 Château Haut Gravier Cotes de Bourg
TL;DR - This is not a pop-n-pour wine. This is a food wine that needs at least a half hour or more to breathe.
My wife and I and a friend sampled this wine together and shared notes.
Aroma: On initial pour, the wine was ambiguous and muted. There were hints of red fruit, but it was hidden behind a lot of alcohol. As it opened up, there was a complex of aromas. Red, bright berries predominated, comparable to a more restrained cherry Polaner All Fruit jam. Later in the meal, we were getting hints of anise.
Flavor profile: This wine was medium-plus in acidity, which was more than we expected for a Merlot-heavy Bourdeaux. I expected the Merlot to be light and bright fruit, which it was, but it leaned toward the zippiness of a Zinfandel without the heaviness. As it opened up, the tannins became more grippy; that and the tartness made it a great accompaniment for the food. As we were finishing our meal, I detected more savory notes and even some minerality. There was also a tart finish, almost cough syrup (in flavor, not viscosity).
One definite factor of the wine is the alcohol content. The label said it was 14.5%, and it showed in the wine. It made the wine more angular and more harsh than it needed to be. My experience with Bordeaux is in the 12.5% to 13% range, and the extra potency made it feel more unstructured, as if the alcohol was poorly integrated into the whole.
Food: As I said above, this wine is dying to accompany food. And it did itself proud with the sirloin tips and pearl onions smothered with a rich tomato-beef sauce on mashed potatoes. The acidity of the wine cut through the richness of the sauce nicely, making an amazing combination.
While I don’t think that this is the most expensive Bordeaux you could find, it was surprisingly complex. It would be a lovely food wine to have on hand to decant and pour.
Many thanks to WineDavid and Alice for the chance to rat this wine!
My friend asked his AI app to generate a review:
This Côtes de Bourg punches above its weight, offering a juicy mouthful of red fruit (think cherries and plums) with a hint of chocolate and toasty oak. The tannins are elegant, making it easy to drink now but with enough structure to hold for a few years.
A steal for everyday drinking or a crowd-pleasing party pour.
Would I buy it again? Absolutely
FWIW
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: chocolates, tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2020 Château Haut Gravier Bordeaux - $22 = 13.75%
Well looking north of the border some tasters from WineAlign.com had a go at this…
Michel Godel: 86 points. Value 2 stars. Integrated now, to a degree, yet wood has always been and will continue to forcefully be the rage. As vivid a Bordeaux as they come, value price notwithstanding as the glare continues to require sunglasses, or the palate protective equivalent. As in food because this wine is too intense without accompaniment. The truth is easier too handle nine months in but still a bit hard to swallow. Last tasted February 2023.
More than youthful, unforgiving at this stage, even reductive for Bordeaux wines. Dark fruit, ferric undertones, iodine, a squirt of soy and knowable wood spice. Baking mainly though this is quite the savoury example from the Côtes De Bourg. Lots of wood, some varnish and an ooze of tree sap. Not enough fruit to withstand all this shellac and shellacking. Drink 2023-2025. Tasted May 2022.
Sara d’Amato: 86 points. Value 3 stars. This well-priced Cotes de Bourg offers a great deal of juicy, ripe jammy plum compote. Bold although a touch soupy featuring wet leaf and stewed fruit. Very good concentration with some warmth on the finish. Ripe and ready to drink. Tasted June 2022.
Plump and still a youthful degree of fruit, this Cotes de Bourg offers notable sweetness and a generous oaky presence. An assemblage of 70% merlot, 10% cabernet, 5% sauvignon gris as well as 15% de malbec from the special clone created by M. Malbeck himself at the end of the 18th century, known locally as ‘cot’. Hold another year or 2 for a more mature and integrated expression. Sustainably made. Re-tasted February 2023.
Megha Jandhyala, Critic Understudy(?) 85 points. Value 2 stars. This is a deeply pigmented, concentrated Bordeaux. Oak flavours of cedar and spice lead and play a prominent role here, framing notes of very ripe dark plums, cooked blackberries, and neglected autumn leaves. The palate is medium-bodied and palpably sweet, with abrasive, chalky tannins. The finish is green and leafy. Tasted February 2023.
fwiw
I’d like to thank Alice for choosing me to rat the Chateau Haut Gravier Cotes de Bourg and for shipping it in the narrow window of cool weather we were blessed with last week. It arrived uncooked! I let it rest on the counter, unopened for a day. Then I uncorked it, poured a glass, and re-corked the bottle for further review the next day.
Initial impressions
On the nose I detected tobacco, damp earth or soil, black plums, and hints of warming spices like clove, cinnamon, and cardamom.
Visually the wine is a very dark purple to garnet at the edge and it produces slow, thick legs.
The flavor was very dry and tannic with red raspberry fruit and a slight astringency of juniper berries.
Day Two
Next day it mellowed a lot. No longer heavily tannic. Has developed a sweetness on the front. Red and black juicy fruit. Plums and blackberries with leather and tobacco on the finish.
The nose had more red cedar wood/ juniper on it, but less earth. Fruit is coming off as dried, maybe a little raisiny. I liked it better the second day.
Day Three
Third day the wine was the same as on the 2nd day. I shared the last two glasses with a friend. We had it with a dinner of roasted chicken with apricots and olives. It paired really well with this complex and rich dish. My friend said she got cedar wood and dried fruit on the nose and soft tannins, jammy black fruits, and raisin flavors. She said she could identify the Malbec in the blend and really liked it. I agree. I also got a little black pepper on the finish.
My conclusion is that this wine has an old world constitution that really shined after aerating. Once it had opened up, it was delicious with subtle complexity, jammy dark fruit flavors, hints of leather and cedar wood. If I wasn’t in Florida with our afternoon temperatures in the mid 80s F, I would be in for a case.
legitimate-brainy-ferret
@southpaw25
OK - I was on the fence >>but the Ferret pushed me over!! in for 6
pressed-pleasant-shark
@PLSemenza
misanthropic-worst-crown
In for a case! Thanks kaolis fwiw!
Bummer… no chocolates
…
@albany14us I see a 2nd UPS label in my account that hasn’t yet shipped - perhaps they’re being shipped separately?
@albany14us, @liquidbluenight,
Service UPS Ground Weight 1.00 LBS 05/14/2024 1:54 P.M.
On the Way, Arrived at Facility, Vernon, CA, United States???
The chocolate arrived today, signature required.
UPS guy, confused: “Did you order very tiny wine?”
Later, upon opening…
Wife: “What sort of sick bastard pairs milk chocolate with red wine?”
@tnarg42 Yeah, really annoying that signature is required. I still don’t have my crappy chocolates because they attempted delivery yesterday while I was in a meeting. Lame.