2020 Chateau La Gravette de Certan (750ml)

Merlot from Pomerol, Bordeaux, France

B-21 Top Recommendation
Read More

A newly arriving container filled with top rated Bordeaux, these 2020 Bordeaux selections boast outstanding quality across the board at unparalleled value pricing, from a vintage of “brilliant wines” according to the Wine Advocate’s William Kelley and described by Vinous critic Antonio Galloni as “a year brimming with phenomenal wines at all levels, from the big names down to bottles the average consumer can still afford to purchase by the case.”

Although there were no significant heat spikes throughout the growing season, 2020 was a warm growing season overall in Bordeaux, with generally well-timed rain in the Spring followed by extremely dry summer weather that prevented the development of mildew. While summer drought conditions led to smaller berries and yields for Cabernet Sauvignon, mid-August rains on the Right Bank plumped up Merlot and cool September evenings during the last phase of ripening preserved freshness in the wines. Inside Bordeaux’s Jane Anson noted that “clay-limestone soils did brilliantly against the heat of the summer, favoring the St Emilion plateau” with an impressive array of wines also coming from the gravel soils of Pauillac and St Julien. Describing the white wines of 2020, Anson declares there are “plenty of delicious bottles,” the earlier harvest delivering “exotic fruit flavors with grip and personality.” Describing 2020 as “an incredibly exciting vintage for Bordeaux,” Antonio Galloni of Vinous finds remarkable quality in each of the Left Bank appellations, while calling Saint Emilion “one of the sweet spots of 2020” and noting “readers will find a bevy of compelling wines from satellite appellations” including Haut-Medoc and Fronsac. Called “an incredible classic vintage” by Jeb Dunnuck producing “a solid swath of cellar-worthy buys in the $65-and-under range” according to the Wine Spectator’s James Molesworth, critic James Suckling summed up the vintage well, declaring “if you buy or drink a bottle of top-rated 2020 Bordeaux, you are going to be more than happy. In fact, you most likely will be elated” and noting “many of the wines give pleasure for a young wine but the best will age for decades ahead.”

Summing it up as “a great modern-day Bordeaux vintage,” Antonio Galloni notes the wines are “less extracted, more vibrant and, frankly, much more fun to drink,” this well priced, wide-ranging offer a terrific opportunity to stock up on an array of age worthy Bordeaux from an exceptional 2020 vintage that according to Neal Martin of Vinous “delivers the goods.”

96JS

95JD

95V

95WI

Wow. What a second wine with berries, chocolate, and coffee beans. Black berries. Full and layered with such incredible length and intensity. The real deal. Hard not to drink now but will age beautifully. Try after 2029.

96 points, James Suckling (May 2023)

Based on 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2020 La Gravette De Certan offers lots of ripe black cherries, tobacco, leafy herbs, chocolate, and damp earth. Medium to full-bodied, ripe, seamless, and straight-up sexy, it's perfect for drinking over the coming 15 years. If there's a better second wine out there, I don't know of it.

95 points, Jeb Dunnuck (Mar 2023)

The 2020 Gravette de Certan is quite unusual this year in that the blend includes 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, which gives the Gravette a distinctly Left Bank-leaning profile of cassis, graphite, lavender and dried herbs. Pliant and creamy, with notable depth, the Gravette is fabulous, even if it is unlike any Gravette I have tasted before. It’s a stunning, very serious wine that is frankly better than many Grand Vins. A very pretty, exotic, blood orange-like note brightness the finish beautifully. The 2020 is an insanely great Gravette.

95 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous (Feb 2023)

A blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2020 La Gravette de Certan is deep garnet-purple in color. It flows effortlessly from the glass with flamboyant notes of juicy black plums, crushed blackberries, and black cherry compote, followed by hints of candied violets, star anise, and dark chocolate. Full-bodied, rich, and concentrated, the palate is wonderfully velvety, with loads of fragrant spice and floral layers and a long, perfumed finish. If this is the second wine, just imagine the Grand Vin!

95 points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Independent (Mar 2023)

Alcohol By Volume: 14.5%

#FRGCCF20AE

$79.88

Compare At: $84.99

60+ bottles in stock. Ships in 1 to 2 business days.

This item is available in original wood case. Would you like to include the wood case in your order? There is an additional $12.00 shipping fee for wood cases.

Available in Original Wood Case of 6

Add to Wishlist