Compare at $40/bottle elsewhere
Last Spring at ProWein in Germany, I came across the Graves Association of Bordeaux "highlights" table where I had the opportunity to taste through a number of Graves wines. The wine on offer today (along with its sister whites we released a few weeks back) immediately captivated me, and I tracked down the producer, Chateau La Rose Sarron, to strike up a conversation.
Like its white sibling, also aptly named Ambassadeur de Graves, I was captured by the 2019 Graves Red's structure, sense of place, complexity, and grace. While the source winery sells it online for 15 euro/bottle, once you factor everything in, you'd pay $35-45/bottle landed here in the US.
A blend of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot, this wine is a terroir-bomb with vibrant, lively fruit on the nose, and that definitive dirty, dry, dusty French palate just abound with structure - which everyone on this list knows how much I LOVE structure in my wines - and it has the ability to age gracefully over the next decade.
91-points from Decanter and 90-points from Wine Enthusiast for this 2019 bottling.
Beautifully garnet on the pour with a deep brick red rim, the nose is very lively with red-to-black fruits, dark chocolate shavings, cherry-coffee accents and crushed vanilla blossoms. Full bodied on entry, fleshing out perfectly across the palate, the complex structure is very terroir-driven with red clay pot, fresh turned soils, and a meaty saline all framed by velvety tannins and medium blackberry-flecked acidity. The finish is dry, and with decent length, still showing a bit of youth, framing largely around vanilla and barrel spices with lots more to come in the future.
Blend of Estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon (45%), Merlot (45%), Cabernet Franc (5%), and Petit Verdot (5%)
100% native yeast barrel-fermented and aged
14% alc.
200 cases imported
