CHÂTEAU LE GAY
2016 Pomerol
90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc. Floral nose, quite warmly ripe fruit, a supple warm feel, quite oaky, but it's well-done. Finish stays on the fruit, long and slightly savoury. Lots of wood evident, but it's the class of the fruit that wins. Drinking range: 2025 - 2038 Rating: 91-92 L&S (Apr 2017)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
As with the La Violette, the 2016 Château Le Gay shows a slightly more elegant, structured style yet still packs rocking levels of fruit and texture. Mulled dark fruits, new saddle leather, camphor, and tobacco all give way to a full-bodied Pomerol that has building tannins, solid mid-palate depth, and a great finish. It’s still holding things close to its vest, and while I miss some of the sheer opulence found in vintages such as 2005, 2009, and 2010, this is still going to be brilliant. Hide bottles for 4-5 years and it should shine for two decades or more. Drinking range: 2023 - 2043 Rating: 94+ Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (Mar 2019)
The 2016 Le Gay is a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc cropped at 27 hectoliters per hectare between 27 September and 14 October, matured in 100% new oak. The nose handles the new oak in stride with very pure, almost Côtes de Nuits-like red cherry and strawberry fruit, a patina of vanilla emanating from the wood. The palate is silky smooth on the entry with black cherry and blueberry fruit, a fine line of acidity, very polished in style with a gentle grip on the finish. Le Gay hit the high spots in the previous two vintages. I am not sure if in 2016 it quite reaches those levels, although it is still a sensual wine that should age with style over the next 15-20 years. Drinking range: 2021 - 2040 Rating: 92-94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2017)
Very dark crimson. Very extreme and sweet and concentrated. Not a good example. Drinking range: 2023 - 2030 Rating: 16 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2017)
Very expressive, this nearly gushes with warm blueberry, plum and blackberry reduction notes while chocolate and melted licorice flavors fill in the background. Has fruit to burn, but might just be a bit shy on spine for the longer haul. Rating: 92-95 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2017)
One of the best Le Gays in years. Full-bodied and polished with superfine tannins. Layered. Goes on for minutes. Rating: 98-99 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2017)
The late Catherine Péré-Vergé's sons now run this estate. This has a wonderful depth to the fruit, with coffee grounds balanced by the intense fruit. A little extracted but still very very beautiful. Drinking range: 2025 - 2045 Rating: 91 Jane Anson, Decanter (Apr 2017)
In a vintage in which so many wines are flashy, the 2016 Le Gay is sculpted, precise and full of nuance. Inky blue/purplish fruit, lavender, violet and licorice open up nicely, but it is the wine's translucence and sense of understatement that make it one of the most compellingly delicious Pomerols of the year. Michel Rolland consults. Rating: 93-96 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2017)
Almost certainly the only top Bordeaux that’s made by an Argentinean oenologist, Marcelo Pelleriti, this is wonderfully scented, complex Pomerol that shows leafy, violet aromas, mocha oak, fine tannins and the freshness that’s so typical of the vintage. Drinking range: 2024 - 2032 Rating: 95 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2017)
Château le Gay
Château le Gay, and near-by Château Lafleur, were owned by sisters Therese and Marie Robin for some sixty years. In the later years of their tenure, the management of the estate had been largely entrusted to the Moueix family with whom it was mostly expected that the estate would end up. But when Marie Robin died and her heirs had to sell one of the estates to meet inheritance duties, it was Catherine Pere-Verge who emerged as the owner of le Gay. Catherine had spent 40 years working for the family crystal ware business before deciding to semi-retire by buying a château in Pomerol. She started at Château Montveil where she garnered sufficient enthusiasm for the life of a vigneron to throw her hat into the ring with the better sited Château le Gay. She, subsequently, went on to buy the set to be iconic Château la Violette. On buying Château le Gay, Catherine installed new wine making facilities and increased the size of the vineyard by planting some previous unplanted land. Even with the newer vines, the average age of the vineyard is still 40 years old, planted to 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.