55% cabernet sauvignon 37% merlot 5% cabernet franc and 3% petit verdot. This wine comes from a 46-hectare section on a precipitous slope planted to a high 10000 vines/ha with an average vine age of 25 years. The soils are deep gravel atop clay and limestone subsoil. No chemical herbicides or insecticides are used both plowing and de-leafing is done manually. Yields were just 32 hl/ha. The merlot was harvested between September 13-23 the petit verdot on September 21st; and the cabernet sauvignon and franc between September 21-27. Malolactic was conducted in barrel with aging in a mix of 65% new and 35% once used barrels. A deep dark ruby red this has a restrained nose at this early stage that reveals deeply layered aromas of blackberry black cherry and dry stone. Soft and dense on the palate with intense flavors of blackberry jam and cassis this is tight layered and complex. A complete wine this has a long tannic finish but should drink nicely through 2030. Very well done in this vintage. Michel Rolland and Athanase Fakorellis consult. Tasted three times.

The 2011 Malartic Lagraviere has a ripe blackberry and mulberry scented bouquet with good fruit extraction and purity perhaps a little more refined than the de Fieuzal tasted alongside. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy almost mouth puckering tannins. It is missing a little fruit in the middle and the finish is showing a touch of hardness and obduracy. Another sample was showing better lightness of touch and harmony and I suspect that this is more representative.

Vivid, expressive, juicy and concentrated, the 2011 Malartic Lagraviere comes from good-sized estate of 131 acres, of which 17 are dedicated to their excellent white wine. Made from a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, it exhibits a dense ruby/purple color along with a supple, medium to full-bodied texture with no hard edges, an opulence and exuberance that provide lots of seductiveness, and tell-tale notes of burning embers, charcoal, kirsch liqueur and black currant fruit. Drink this impressive 2011 over the next two decades. Only 55% of the production made it into the grand vin. The natural alcohol is 13.5%. - Robert M. Parker, Jr.