Château La Croix de Gay 2020

Ripe, fleshy and forward, this manages some succulence to the mix of raspberry and blackberry compote flavors. The slightly rustic finish reveals generous singed tobacco and warm earth accents. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2032.

Fresh and fruity, clean and clear, quite intense and concentrated with liquorice on show, but it has a nice persistence of flavour and feels balanced in terms of tannic texture, fruit concentration and acidity. Fresh ripe fruit and minerality. Clearly lots of wood on show, this needs a few years, it narrows towards the finish. Linear, fresh and focused, with lots of mint and spice.

Plenty of blackberry, chocolate, citrus wood and black tea on the palate. It’s full and juicy with focused fruit and a long, flavorful finish in a sophisticated way. This will age beautifully, because of the balance and integration. Refined. Drink after 2026.

97% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc. Aged for approximately 18 months. Gosh, this smells so ripe, I fear I might have put it in Argentina if served it blind! Very sweet palate entry and obviously quite alcoholic. A bit too much and too cocoa-flavoured for me. Sickly and drying, uncomfortable finish. (JR)

The 2020 La Croix de Gay is a potent, brooding wine. A blast of dark cherry fruit, dried herbs, menthol, licorice, game and smoke adds to an impression of somber, virile intensity. Powerful, sinewy tannins are pretty dominant. It will be interesting to see if this softens with time. Today, it is a brute.

Plums, chocolate, lilacs and Indian spices open the perfume. On the palate, the medium-bodied wine is soft, silky and fresh, with layers of creamy cherries, cocoa and plums on the mid-palate and into the finish. Drink from 2023-2038.

Good depth and intensity of fruit, riper and darker fruit with some smoke, and toast from fine oak. Dense palate with really fine and polished tannin like cocoa powder, layers of fresh dark fruit, good oak integration and a long vigorous finish.

Kunz barrel sample 2021: fresh, powerful, silky bouquet, cherries, blackcurrants, fresh herbs, nougat. Balanced, fresh, refined palate with sweet fruit, good tannins, powerful aromatics, dense structure, and a long, fresh finish.

Fresh, powerful, silky bouquet: cherries, currants, fresh herbs, nougat. Balanced, fresh, refined palate with sweet fruit, good tannins, intense aromatics, dense structure, and a long, fresh finish. 17/20 2025 - 2038

Delicious black cherry and spiced damson, rich chocolate, this is such a signature Pomerol, with a crushed mint leaf finish. Excellent. 38 hl/ha yield, consultant Axel Marchal.

90-91

A seringa-like nose, very restrained. A dense yet well-defined palate, with lovely precision that carries through to a saline finish. Still a touch of oaky aftertaste, which will fade when the time comes.

Deep red color. An intense, refined nose, fruity, pure, and spicy. A palate of tactile delicacy, flavorful, with a fine touch and, from mid-palate onward, a rise in silkiness that carries this wine far. It’s very good.

Very ripe red fruit, crushed strawberry; the substance is good but the pronounced, vanilla-accented élevage, evolving toward caramel and burnt coffee, takes over the sample presented en primeur... It’s a wine that is “overly well-raised” at this stage, so to speak.

An outstanding effort from this Pomerol château, the 2020 Château La Croix De Gay reveals a deeper ruby/plum color as well as a spicy, complex, expressive bouquet of red and black fruits, loamy earth, dried herbs, and nicely integrated oak. Medium-bodied on the palate, with ripe tannins and solid overall balance, it's going to evolve nicely for 10-15 years.

93–95. Barrel Sample. Big, rich and layered with dense black fruits and solid tannins, this wine is succulent with juicy acidity as well as firm with a dry core that is holding the wine together. The wine will need time.