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Château Pontête-Bellegrave, Graves de Vayres

Bordeaux, France 2016 (750mL)
$36.00
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Château Pontête-Bellegrave, Graves de Vayres

Bordeaux is France’s most productive wine region. Depending on your point of view, that’s either good or bad. On the one hand, there’s lots of mass-produced, generic Bordeaux out there (bad). On the other hand, the place is a treasure trove of small, family-run châteaux making serious wines (good).
Every time I visit Bordeaux, I’m turned on to something new, from some part of the region I’ve never heard of, and the wine is dynamite (and affordable). In fact, I don’t even have to visit the region to make an exciting discovery—not when there are sharp importers scouring the region even more frequently than I do. Today’s wine is the second bottling we’ve offered from Château Pontête-Bellegrave, a small property from a part of Bordeaux even the most studious sommelier would have to look up: Graves de Vayres. This sumptuous, full-throttle 2016 is a Left-leaning Right-Banker: Merlot-driven but full of Cabernet personality as well. It offers serious pedigree and polish at a very modest price.
Graves de Vayres is a sub-zone of the Entre-Deux-Mers AOC, which is mostly thought of as a ‘Right Bank’ appellation (i.e. to the East, or right, of the Gironde River). And while it is indeed east of the Gironde, it’s on the west, or ‘left,’ bank of the Dordogne—a Gironde tributary that runs through the key Bordeaux town of Libourne. Graves de Vayres is across the Dordogne from more-famous ‘Right Bank’ AOCs such as Fronsac, St-Emilion, and Pomerol, and when I first tasted Pontête-Bellegrave, I recognized some similarities (especially to Pomerol). But there was also something else: a strong note of cassis and a tannic backbone that suggested a heavier Cabernet Sauvignon presence.

As it turns out, Graves de Vayres is so named because—as with the more-famous Graves AOC on the Left Bank—of a high percentage of gravel in its soils. While Merlot tends to prefer heavier clays (as in Pomerol, where Merlot is king), Cabernet Sauvignon thrives in gravelly/sandy soils. Although Pontête-Bellegrave’s 2016 is just 20% Cabernet (with 80% Merlot), there’s a healthy dose of the kind of pencil lead/tobacco intensity more readily associated with Left Bank wines.

In the glass it’s a dark, opaque ruby red with a hint of black, leading with assertive aromas of cassis, red currants, black plum, licorice, violets, dark chocolate, green herbs, and leather. It is viscous and deep on the palate, quite full-bodied, with smooth, rounded tannins. It’s a drink-now style, hinting at the New World with its concentration but maintaining a dark, crushed gravel savor to balance the fruit sweetness. Although it carries its alcohol well, serve it on the cool side, say 60 degrees in large Bordeaux stems. Decanting certainly wouldn’t hurt, but it isn’t critical. This is a lot of wine for the money (thanks to its unheard-of appellation) and could use something rib-sticking to eat alongside it; some braised short ribs ought to do the trick. Enjoy!
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Country
France
Region
Bordeaux
Sub-Region
FranceGraves de Vayres
Soil
Sand & Gravel
Farming
Sustainable
Blend
80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon
Alcohol
14.1
OAK
25% New French
TEMP.
60-65
Glassware
Bordeaux
Drinking
Now-2025
Decanting
15 Minutes
Pairing
Braised Short Ribs

France

Bourgogne

Beaujolais

Enjoying the greatest wines of Beaujolais starts, as it usually does, with the lay of the land. In Beaujolais, 10 localities have been given their own AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) designation. They are: Saint Amour; Juliénas; Chénas; Moulin-à Vent; Fleurie; Chiroubles; Morgon; Régnié; Côte de Brouilly; and Brouilly.

Southwestern France

Bordeaux

Bordeaux surrounds two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which intersect north of the city of Bordeaux to form the Gironde Estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is at the 45th parallel (California’s Napa Valley is at the38th), with a mild, Atlantic-influenced climate enabling the maturation of late-ripening varieties.

Central France

Loire Valley

The Loire is France’s longest river (634 miles), originating in the southerly Cévennes Mountains, flowing north towards Paris, then curving westward and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes. The Loire and its tributaries cover a huge swath of central France, with most of the wine appellations on an east-west stretch at47 degrees north (the same latitude as Burgundy).

Northeastern France

Alsace

Alsace, in Northeastern France, is one of the most geologically diverse wine regions in the world, with vineyards running from the foothills of theVosges Mountains down to the Rhine River Valley below.

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