| 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 2018 blend is 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc.
Aromas of currants, blackberries, dried flowers, dark chocolate and tobacco leaves. Citrus zest, too. It’s full-bodied with firm, ultra fine tannins. Complex and layered with a juicy core of ripe fruit. Silky and delicious. Very creamy and fine-tannined. Better from 2025.
The 2018 Gruaud Larose, which incidentally now comes with a red wax capsule, is initially tightly wound on the nose, offering blackberry, raspberry, touches of juniper berry and a light seaweed note that becomes accentuated with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins, and a little lactic on the entry, with a smear of dark chocolate segueing into a balanced middle that will require time to absorb the oak. It needs a little more complexity to come through on the finish, so give it 3–4 years in bottle. 2024 - 2045
Composed of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc, the 2018 Gruaud Larose has a medium to deep garnet-purple color. It comes barreling out of the glass with powerful scents of blackberry preserves, baked plums and crème de cassis plus hints of fruitcake, Indian spices and tobacco leaf. The medium to full-bodied palate offers bags of baked berries flavors and a chewy texture with just enough freshness, finishing spicy. Judging by the slightly rustic tannins and suggestions of dried berry characters, I'm guessing the heat and drought had an impact this year. This said, the wine is very well crafted and delicious right now, although a good 3-4 years in bottle should soften the tannins and bring out further nuances. 2024 - 2038
Tasted blind. Tea-leaf aroma. Polished tannins and unusually sweet fruit. Not too alcoholic though. Fine boned and an agreeable, well-balanced claret. 14.5%
Drink 2026 – 2042
67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc; 85% new oak. Barrel sample.
Darkest, smudgy black-cherry colour. Lifted cassis and a hint of tea leaf. Paper-fine layers of tannins but not a lot of juice on the palate. Savoury, dark but slightly flat finish. (JH) 14%
Drink 2025-2033
Black fruited on the nose, with hints of coffee bean and liquorice. The palate is classically medocain, with firm but ripe tannins, bright acidity and cedar black fruit. Medium bodied, there are savoury tones of cigar box and peppers. The finish is bright and clean, cooler than many in this vintage, but it is a classically proportioned St Julien.
(67 Cabernet Sauvignon, 24 Merlot, 9 Cabernet Franc) | 90% new oak | 14.2% alc With a superb nose and a detailed palate with red and black fruit notes in harmony, this is a well-balanced Gruaud and while it is long and complete I felt that there was a little something missing and so while I was tempted to bump up the score to 18.5, in the end I stuck with a noble 18.
The 2018 Gruaud Larose was picked from 20 September with the Merlot, finishing on 10 October with the Cabernet Sauvignon, with pumping over every two days and aged for 18 to 24 months in 80% new oak. It has a deep garnet colour. The nose is tightly wound, more so than expected, with blackberry, raspberry, briary and cedar aromas, a crisper Gruaud than I have seen aromatically compared to recent vintages. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins: blackcurrant, mulberry, cedar, hints of clove developing with time. I appreciate how well the wood has integrated in the last few months. It does not possess the persistence of the 2016 Gruaud Larose, but it is very harmonious and less feral than some vintages have been. Great potential. Drink 2024-2045.
This is really generous and rolls off the tongue with ripe and velvety tannins and a fresh undertone. Full-bodied, firm and silky. Extremely long and flavorful. Very complex already.
The 2018 Gruaud Larose is blended of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc, with a pH of 3.88 and 14.2% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple in color, it leaps from the glass with bold black cherries, mulberries, plum preserves and blackcurrant cordial scents with hints of menthol, lilacs, licorice and cloves plus wafts of fallen leaves and tilled soil. Medium to full-bodied with a taut core of ripe, densely packed, muscular fruit, it has a firm line of ripe, grainy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long and spicy. Very exotic Gruaud!
