Château Le Gay 2016

This has alluring waves of frankly ripe plum, blackberry and açaí fruit flavors that caress as they move along, pulling flickers of anise, smoldering incense and Christmas pudding along. Showy and hedonistic, but this has structure and definition as it drapes itself on the finish. A lovely wine. Best from 2022 through 2035. 1,417 cases made.

This shows dark fruit, cocoa, mushrooms and earth on the nose. Youthful, long and textural, with expressive and assertive tannins. Better from 2028. 10 Years On retrospective.

Tasted blind. Mid-intensity ruby. Clean, fresh fruit on the nose and then a little furry and hot on the finish. (JR)

The 2016 Le Gay has a clean, fresh, slightly gravel-tinged bouquet with ample black fruit, conveying a sense of refinement. The palate is medium-bodied, with soft tannins, a fine bead of acidity, dark berry fruit and a touch of black pepper on the finish. Very fine, and it improves after 20 minutes in the glass, gaining more precision. Tasted blind at the Southwold 10-Year-On tasting and at Bordeaux Index’s 10-Year-On.

Earthy, spicy, fresh and juicy, with layers of ripe, fleshy cherries, espresso, and truffle. The wine is concentrated, complex and fresh; you can feel the fleshiness and freshness as well as the silkiness in the tannins, but it is starting to tighten up. So you should definitely hold your bottles for at least 7–8 years, allowing the wine to develop before everything really comes together. The wine was made from a blend of 90% old-vine Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc.

Perfumed and sinful nose with black truffle, meaty dark fruit, violet, fine spices. Seductive. Dense and silky with grainy tannin, bold and voluminous with a very sustained finish.

90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 40-year-old vines, 27 hl/ha, 14% abv, production around 18,000 bottles. Purple garnet with a dense core and lightening rim. Airy, ripe blackberries on the nose, followed by red plums, a hint of mocha and cooled forest fruit tea. On the dense palate, wild cherry and chocolate pastilles, finishing long on blueberry jelly and plum skin.

Kunz barrel sample 17: (90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 27 hl/ha, 14% alc./vol.) Concentrated, velvety, fresh bouquet of blackberries, black cherries, honey, mint, tea leaves. Densely interwoven, multi-layered palate with powerful, sweet fruit, plenty of fine tannins, a finely creamy, well-muscled structure, diverse, intense aromatics, and a very long, aromatic finish.

(90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 27 hl/ha, 14% vol. alcohol) Concentrated, velvety, fresh bouquet, blackberries, black cherries, honey, mint, tea leaves. Densely interwoven, multi-layered palate with powerful, sweet fruit, plenty of fine tannins, a finely creamy, well-muscled structure, diverse, powerful aromatics, very long, aromatic finish. 19/20 2025 - 2045

You can feel the foundation on the finish, the subtlety of the tannin and its very deep silkiness; let’s wait a few months for the aromatics to assert themselves.

Le Gay 2016 shows a beautifully built structure, with firm tannins still present on the finish. During ageing, the wine has gained in texture and breadth, developing a richly spicy profile.

Dense garnet red. Such finesse and complexity. Le Gay 2016 shows a remarkable ability to combine freshness and warmth through notes of black berries, licorice wood, as well as eucalyptus and lavender. Finally, pleasant cocoa notes emerge. On the palate, the wine mirrors the nose. It first reveals its gourmand and round side, yet it brings balance and complexity into play. The tannins appear late and are of rare precision. They manage to assert themselves without fuss and to ally with the most important partner: the acidic structure. The result is a beautiful harmony that highlights fruit, power, and freshness. A superb achievement.

Dark, intense and beautiful color. Moderately aromatic nose with ripe, creamy fruit. Smooth on the attack, spicy and fruity mid-palate, the wine unfolds with a creamy touch toward a long, slightly firm finish.

Touches of heat are evident on the attack, but the palate is quickly deepened by lashings of black fruits. There's plenty to like here and the texture is gorgeously silky, but just be aware it has broad and fairly inflexible shoulders.

Campfire smoke, grilled cedar and tar, brambled black fruits, charming and characterful rand ready to go.

Le Gay is a round, crunchy and forthcoming wine with notes of sweet red berries and nicely well structured fruits, viols and truffles. Le Gay is never a heavy weigh but a fine and well, structured, fruity and perfumed wine that is normally ready to be enjoyed a bit earlier than its neighbours and the 2016 Le Gay can be approached now.