Vieux Château Certan’s rare second wine, Gravette de Certan, epitomises the 2017 vintage – elegance, purity and sheer drinkability. It provides an exciting glimpse into the immense talent of the Thienpont family at an especially attractive price. Tasted twice over the past two weeks, the 2017 Gravette de Certan is, once again, formidable and will drink well over the next 15 years. A blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, this second wine is pure class!
Having imported Bordeaux for almost two decades, we are very excited to offer the 2017 Bordeaux vintage, which arrived in our cellars last week! Browse more than 30 wines available, including the Gravette, on our website and read more about the vintage and some highlights from our tastings below.
In recent years, an increasing number of Sauternes producers have turned to dry white wines amid a sluggish market for their signature sweet wines. G de Guiraud is one of our favourite Bordeaux blanc sec wines. This dry white, 65% Sauvignon Blanc and 35% Sémillon, offers immense value at R345. It is utterly delicious and an incredible food wine. Antonio Galloni from Vinous opined, ‘2017 is a fabulous vintage for Bordeaux’s dry whites and almost as good for the sweet white wines.’
Finally, Saint-Estèphe wines are renowned for being elegant, structured and powerful – exemplified by Château Lilian Ladouys; a Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel du Médoc. With intense purity and density of fruit, this is a robust yet approachable wine and one of the stand-outs at last week’s tasting.
‘2017 is all about finesse, perfume and aromatic intensity as opposed to weighty richness.’ – Lisa Perotti-Brown, Wine Advocate
‘We’re back to Bordeaux in 2017. 2015 and 2016 were sunnier and more hedonistic. In 2017 we had an earlier vintage, but not an Indian summer. 2017 was lovely because the ripening cycle was long.’ – Guillaume Thienpont, Vieux Château Certan
‘The 2017s are a testament to the consistency that Bordeaux now achieves.’ – Neal Martin, Vinous
‘Expect plenty of freshness and drinkability from wines that will offer excellent value, and others that will rival 2016 in terms of ripeness and ageability.’ – Decanter
‘The 2017s are built on an axis of persistence and length, rather than textural opulence.’ – Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Whilst 2017 saw some frost, the key to understanding the vintage is far more complex and nuanced. It is worth noting that 80% of the top 150 châteaux enjoyed a great harvest and produced some tremendous wines.
2017 is the smallest crop for decades, so get your order in now.
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