Winemaker Notes
Blend: 85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc that was brought up in 50% new barrels, the 2017 La Gravette De Certan is a smoking second wine from unquestionably one of the top estates in Pomerol. Loaded with notions of dark, chocolatey fruits, leafy herbs, and violets, it has more richness and depth on the palate than most estates’ top wine. Medium to full-bodied and textured, with sweet tannins, it's well worth seeking out and will evolve for two decades.
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James Suckling
This is really delicious now with chocolate, tobacco, spice, and cedar. Full body, firm and silky tannins and a delicious finish. Pure. Easy, yet complex. Second wine of Vieux Château Certan.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 La Gravette de Certan leaps from the glass with exuberant scents of blueberry preserves, blackberry compote and black cherries with hints of violets, menthol, chocolate box and aniseed. Medium-bodied, the palate has a generous amount of expressive blue and black fruit flavors, framed by ripe, rounded tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and fragrant.
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Vinous
The 2017 La Gravette de Certan, made from the estate's young vines (under 25 years of age) is soft, open-knit and inviting. In this vintage, the Gravette is especially floral and perfumed, which gives it tons of immediacy and sheer appeal. Rose petal, sweet red berries, licorice and mint are all laced into the very pretty, nuanced finish. I would prefer to drink the 2017 over the next decade or so.
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Wine Enthusiast
The second wine of Vieux Château Certan, this is produced from young vines. Still with plenty of tannins, it has structure although the fruit is already beginning to shine through. It offers spice and good acidity, and is likely to be ready from 2022.
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.
A source of exceptionally sensual and glamorous red wines, Pomerol is actually a rather small appellation in an unassuming countryside. It sits on a plateau immediately northeast of the city of Libourne on the right bank of the Dordogne River. Pomerol and St-Émilion are the stars of what is referred to as Right Bank Bordeaux: Merlot-dominant red blends completed by various amounts of Cabernet Franc or Cabernet Sauvignon. While Pomerol has no official classification system, its best wines are some of the world’s most sought after.
Historically Pomerol attached itself to the larger and more picturesque neighboring region of St-Émilion until the late 1800s when discerning French consumers began to recognize the quality and distinction of Pomerol on its own. Its popularity spread to northern Europe in the early 1900s.
After some notable vintages of the 1940s, the Pomerol producer, Petrus, began to achieve great international attention and brought widespread recognition to the appellation. Its subsequent distribution by the successful Libourne merchant, Jean-Pierre Mouiex, magnified Pomerol's fame after the Second World War.
Perfect for Merlot, the soils of Pomerol—clay on top of well-drained subsoil—help to create wines capable of displaying an unprecedented concentration of color and flavor.
The best Pomerol wines will be intensely hued, with qualities of fresh wild berries, dried fig or concentrated black plum preserves. Aromas may be of forest floor, sifted cocoa powder, anise, exotic spice or toasted sugar and will have a silky, smooth but intense texture.