2016 Chantegrive

The 2016 Château de Chantegrive was solid, with a pretty bouquet of Christmas spice, mint, and red and black currant fruits. It’s medium-bodied, has fine tannins, and good acidity as well as balance.

Some chocolate and leafy, cabernet character on the nose, but the fruit seems ripe enough on the generous palate. Slightly chewy finish. Just a year longer in the bottle ought to help. A blend of 50 per cent merlot and 50 per cent cabernet sauvignon. Try from 2020.

The 2016 de Chantegrive shows the darker, more virile side of Graves. Dark cherry, chocolate, espresso and torrefaction notes dominate over a more typical expression of the year. The heavily extracted, potent style comes very close to overpowering the wine. There is not shortage of density or power. It would be nice to see if a little more subtlety is possible.