Chateau des Gravieres is a lovely drop of wine from the Graves appellation of Bordeaux. It always shows well in its youth with gentle red fruit, darker bramble notes, sweet spice, graphite pencil and hints of coffee. The tannins and oak flavours are perfectly balanced with the fruit notes and the whole wine has a harmonious and sophisticated feel to it. Its posh, without being too posh.

Chateau des Gravieres is the flagship wine from Les Vignobles Labuzan, which was founded in 1847 and today is run by 7th generation brothers, Denis and Thierry Labuzan. The winery is in Portets, both a port and a village which sits beside the Garonne River, 20km south of Bordeaux in the heart of the Graves region. The unique gravel soils here produce reds which have a distinctive freshness, rich fruit and a graphite quality. This is where the real value lies in Bordeaux, according to Will. The vines are on average, 25 years old, the soil is full of pebbles, and the wine is 50% aged in barriques. Production is focused on Merlot which typically makes up 80% of the blend and the remaining 20% being Cabernet Sauvignon. Chateau des Gravieres proves that value does still exist in Bordeaux.