Château La Grave à Pomerol (known until 1992 as La Grave Trigant de Boisset) lies to the northwest of the Pomerol plateau, bordering Lalande de Pomerol. This is owned by Christian Moueix and is home to Laurent Navarre, managing director of Ets. J-P Moueix so it gets more than its fair share of scrutiny. The vineyard is planted on gravel soils with some clay, with vines of an average age of 30 years, which makes for wines with an elegance and lightness of touch – less of the more obvious power and structure seen in other wines from the plateau. Through very rigorous crop thinning and selection, the Moueix team produce rather seductive wines with charm and finesse. The magnum format will enjoy greater longevity but stylistically the base wine is the same.
The Vineyards
Acquired by Christian Moueix in 1971, Château La Grave was his first vineyard purchase. A great deal of attention was given to the renovation of the vineyard, château, and cellar in order to restore the wine’s place among the top wines of Pomerol. An elegant, delicate, charming wine, the gravelly soils of La Grave offer poise and linearity, while the ripe, red fruit and characteristic silky texture make the wine approachable and enjoyable, even in its youth.
