Winemaker Notes
Deep red in colour flecked with flashes of purple. The bouquet exudes freshness and is a joyous blend of fruit and spice. Direct on the attack, the wine develops lovely tannic structure on the palate, together with concentration and length. Overall, this well-balanced wine culminates in red fruit flavors and a smoky edge.
Perfect match with grilled or roasted meat, stuffed poultry, cheese, mushrooms fricassee.
Blend: 62% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
-
Decanter
A rich seductive nose with smoky blackcurrants - so welcoming and inviting. Purity of juice on the palate, great acidity that is mouthwatering, this has a lot of life with quite precise cherry and blackcurrant flavours and good texture to the fine tannins that grip and hold but don't overwhelm the fruit. A nice chalky texture to the tannins that gives a powdery element to the palate too, it's mineral and stoney and combines well with the marked smokiness. Nice drive, feels rich and quite powerful but also restrained. Good concentration overall.
-
James Suckling
This is one of the best Rahoul reds I have had with tile, smoke, berry and sweet tobacco. Medium-bodied with medium-round tannins and a flavorful finish. Direct and velvet-textured. 62% merlot, 35% cabernet sauvignon and 3% petite verdot. Drink in 2023 and onwards.
-
Wine Enthusiast
From the north of the Graves appellation, this estate is showing well. This latest release is dominated by ripe, generous Merlot giving density as well as juicy black fruits. There is plenty of potential in this wine that will be ready from 2025.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Famous for both its red and white wines, Graves is a large region, extending 30 miles southeast of the city of Bordeaux, along the left bank of the Garonne River. Red wine producing vineyards cover well over three times as much area as the whites. In the late 1980s, the French created the separate appellation of Pessac-Léognan within the northern confines of Graves. It includes all of its most famous properties, and the southern suburbs of the city Bordeaux itself. In French "graves" is a term used to indicate gravelly soils.