Château Crabitey 2011

Bettane & Desseauve

About the wine:

Very exuberant, ripe nose, richly fruity, very eucalyptus and truffled, with floral notes, fleshy, very aromatic palate, with tight tannins and freshness. Good length, good potential.

About the domain :

In 1872, the Franciscan nuns founded the Providences orphanage at Château Crabitey. Vines were the essential resource of this community. In 1985, they called on Jean-Ralph de Butler, an agricultural engineer, who perfected the estate. Today, his son Arnaud amplifies his father's work and remains the sole owner, as the sisters withdrew from Crabitey in 2008. This cru is one of the most carefully tended in the Portets area, and certainly the one that produces the most balanced wines. This is the heart of classic Bordeaux taste.

Guide Hachette des vins

About the wine:

A wine born of equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The promise of an intense color is followed by a fine bouquet of breeding and very ripe red fruit. The fruit takes on candied accents in a full-bodied, powerful palate that needs a little time to mature.

About the domain :

Former orphanage and vineyard created in 1872 by the Franciscan nuns on the Portets plateau. In 1985, the order called on Jean-Ralph de Butler, an agricultural engineer, to modernize the estate, eventually selling it to him in 2008. Arnaud de Butler took over in 1999. The cru comprises 28 hectares of Garonne gravel.

Guide des Vins Gault & Millau

About the wine:

Intense dark berry fruit, tinged with woody notes, leather and tobacco, in a straightforward, firm mouthfeel, with a fresh, long finish and particularly fine tannins. A classic, harmonious and pleasant wine.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine:

Without being familiar with this property, this well-made 2011 figures prominently in the tasting. Crafted in a fine, fruity style, it presents notes of tobacco, black cherry, plum and soy. It has a dark ruby color, medium body without any hardness, and a fleshy mouthfeel. Although not very complex, this is a notable Graves to consume over the next 7-8 years.

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the domain :

At the head of 28 hectares of vines, a good part of which are planted on one of Portets' finest gravelly hilltops, Arnaud de Butler has made this Graves cru one of the appellation's benchmarks over the last fifteen years. In 2008, he embarked on a vast program to restructure the vineyard, giving priority to Cabernet Sauvignon on the property's finest hilltops. A wise choice, as demonstrated by the importance of this grape variety in the quality of the latest blends (particularly 2014, which will be available later this year). Over the past 10 years, his wines have become much fuller and more assertive. Gaining in mellowness and fruit expression, they have also made enormous progress in elegance, both in white and red wines. Often corpulent, the reds are never better than in their first three or four years in bottle, and over ten years in the most concentrated vintages.

Wine Spectator