2019 Chateau Gruaud Larose (Ex Château)
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Tasting notes
72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc. Purple-crimson hue. Poised and fragrant with floral and dark-fruit notes. Palate smooth and refined with satin-like texture and tannins. Plenty of freshness. Clean and long on the finish with real persistence. Spot-on in terms of elegance and balance. (JL)
Critic scores
Jancis Robinson MW
James Lawther MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
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.
Tasted blind. Sweet, rich, purple-fruited nose. Opulent, come-hither St-Julien! Dramatic – perhaps too alcoholic for purists? (JR)
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.
About the producer
Ch. Gruaud Larose is a Second Growth estate in Saint-Julien, Bordeaux. It is often considered one of the best-value Left Bank estates, with the wines occasionally matching those of the First Growths.