| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > St Julien |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
This famous and historic Saint Julien 2nd growth is popular throughout the world and is usually released at the most reasonable price of all the so-called "super-seconds". The 82 hectare vineyard is one of the largest of the classed growths.
The 2019 Gruaud Larose is performing extremely well in bottle, wafting from the glass with aromas of wild berries and plums mingled with notions of licorice, potpourri, pencil shavings and subtle soil tones. Medium to full-bodied, elegant and seamless, with powdery tannins and succulent acids, it's remarkably suave and refined for a wine of obvious breadth, concentration and power. Drink Date 2027 - 2055
The 2019 Gruaud-Larose has a cohesive, very harmonious bouquet with crushed stone and tobacco infusing the black fruit; cedar scents surfacing with further aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with a succulent entry, sweeter than expected but not cloying, liquorice and touches of black pepper furnishing the long and quite decadent finish. One for the long haul. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. Drink 2027 - 2060
72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc. Deep ruby colour with a silky nose of cassis and sous bois. There is a hit of exotic spice, but the underlying tone is of fresh forest fruits. The palate is graphite-led and chalky, showin real savoury restraint. This is an elegant style with fresh, savoury fruit framed by ample chalky tannins. Classically proportioned, it is a wine that focuses on balance over power. Pencil shavings, hedgerow fruit and fresh tobacco linger on a deeply savoury yet youthful finish. Give it 5-7 years to integrate, at which point it should drink well fort 15+ years.
Attractive aromas of ripe dark and blue fruit, vanilla, dark chocolate, hazelnuts and wet soil. Dense and compact with layers of polished tannins that hold long and even on the palate. Firm finish with notes of chocolate and crushed stones. Pretty finish. Try after 2026.
The 2019 Gruaud Larose, composed of 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot, is deep garnet-purple in color. Classic cassis, pencil lead, and cedar notes waft from the nose with nuances of menthol and tar. The medium-bodied palate is soft and juicy, with earthy nuances and a ferrous finish.
Savoury, chiselled and elegant Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated fruits, totally gorgeous and so moreish. Controlled power, huge precision, with an elasticity to the tannins. It is Left Bank in a glass, St Julien in a glass, and easily one of the greatest Gruaud Larose's at this stage for a good few decades. Harvest September 20 to October 5. First year in certified organic conversion. Totally beautiful. 80% new oak
Tasted blind. Sweet, rich, purple-fruited nose. Opulent, come-hither St-Julien! Dramatic – perhaps too alcoholic for purists? 13.5%
Drink 2026
– 2043
I wasn't able to taste the 2019 Château Gruaud Larose from barrel, but it's certainly an impressive Saint-Julien in bottle. Deep purple, with beautiful cassis and darker raspberry fruits as well as spice, dried flowers, and cedary incense notes, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness carrying plenty of sweet tannins, a deep, concentrated mid-palate, and beautiful length. It's not the dense blockbuster style of the 2018 and is much more elegant and pretty, with plenty of up-front charm. It's beautifully done. It's going to benefit from just short-term bottle age and have 25+ years of prime drinking.
The 2019 Gruaud Larose is composed of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and 3% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs a fair bit of swirling to unlock notes of pencil lead, black olives, anise and dried roses with a core of black currant pastilles, Morello cherries, cedar chest, and iron ore. Medium to full-bodied, the flavors slowly grow in the mid-palate with layer upon layer of crucnhy black and red fruits and lots of earthy accents, finishing very long with lingering fragrance.
The 2019 Gruaud-Larose is a step up from the previous vintage with ebullient red berry fruit mixed with cedar and sous-bois . It's less pastille-like than a few months ago and is more serious and saline. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, better acidity and more nervosité than the 2019, with a vivid, harmonious and smooth espresso and seaweed-tinged finish. Just a lovely Gruaud-Larose.
The 2019 Gruaud Larose, bottled in May 2021, represents around one-third of the total production. This was the first time I had tasted this Saint-Julien. The nose unfolds to reveal black cherries, blueberry, a touch of pastilles and a hint of orange blossom. The palate is quite tannic on the entry, with crunchy black fruit, and classic in style. Very saline toward the finish, which is strict and slightly briny, and yet, lo and behold, with 10–15 minutes of aeration it begins to cohere and blossom. This needs several years in bottle but should be well worth waiting for. My question is whether it will surpass the 2018. Drink 2025-2050.
Although Gruaud Larose is part of the UGC that sent over samples from its members, they decided not to take part, a decision that I respect. I look forward to tasting their 2019 when I can go to Bordeaux.
The 2019 is a blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc. The abv is 13.65%. The wine will be aged for 18-24 months in 80% new French oak. Samples will not be sent out this year due to concerns over stability of the embryonic wine during international shipment, so there will likely be little critical review ahead of release.
