2023 Vray Croix de Gay
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Tasting notes
Violets, chocolate, truffle, black cherries, and licorice form the perfume. On the palate, the medium-bodied wine is elegant, supple, soft, and silky. The wine is fresh, vibrant, clean, and pure, finishing with chocolate-covered cherries, black raspberries, and a hint of peppery spice, that only shows up at the end of the finish. The wine blends 98% Merlot with 2% Cabernet Franc, 14.5% ABV. This is the second vintage produced by the same team that also makes Calon Segur.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Bright and vivid with crunchy fruit and lightly powdery tannins. Medium-bodied and savory. The tannins are very polished and fine. 3.67-hectare vineyard. 98% merlot and 2% cabernet franc.
Incorporating fully 19% Cabernet Franc, the 2023 Vray Croix de Gay is charming and velvety, bursting with aromas of petals, plums, orange zest and spices. Medium to full-bodied, supple and layered, its suave, vibrant profile reflects the choice to pick comparatively early, beginning on September 5.
The 2023 Vray Croix de Gay was cropped at 34hL/ha and aged in 30% new oak. (From 2022, there is also a redesigned label). There is something sedate about the nose that gradually unfurls: fine lift and perfume, with subtle black truffle scents following through. The palate is medium-bodied, the oak particularly conspicuous and imparting a creamy texture. Showing modest depth, it’s just missing a little grip and heft on the finish, where the wood tannins show a bit more than I would have liked. This is a more elegant take on the vintage, and there is nothing wrong with that, but watch those wood tannins once this is bottled–they need to fully integrate.