2006 CHÂTEAU GRUAUD LAROSE 2ème Cru Classé Saint Julien, Lea & Sandeman

CHÂTEAU GRUAUD LAROSE

2006 2ème Cru Classé Saint Julien

Colour Red
Origin France, Bordeaux
Sub-district Haut Médoc
Village Saint Julien
Classification 2ème Cru Classé
ABV 13%

As we heard so often, the Sarget (second wine) ended up with more Merlot, and the grand vin with a higher percentage of Cabernet, but here it is the Cabernet Franc which at 11% is at a significantly higher proportion, as they found it excellent. Serious nose, some oak, but mostly blackcurrant. Less opulently thick than some, and in some ways showing more advanced, vinous. The Sarget, which is excellent, perhaps led one to hope for even more body, but this has a good attack, balanced sweetness in the mid-palate, and it goes on and on, nicely long. An excellent Gruaud, more refined and without the rather animal side which often marks it. Rating: 92 L&S (Apr 2007)


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The 2006 Château Gruaud Larose can be a divisive wine. At ten years of age, it shows some inertia on the nose: sultry blackberry and briary fruit, nicely defined but lacking what I call "flow." The palate is medium-bodied with dusty tannin, rather rustic red berry fruit laced with sandalwood and tar, fading a little towards the soft, easy-going finish. Not bad...but I have encountered many superior wines from this Saint Julien estate. Tasted January 2016. Drinking range: 2016 - 2026 Rating: 88 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2021)

The 2006 Gruaud Larose replicates the half-dozen or so previous encountered bottles. It has a straightforward light red berry nose, a little static but I would not say dilute. Perhaps you would have asked for more given the prestige of the château? The palate is medium-bodied with a savory, lightly spiced entry with clove and sage notes. There is a slight metallic texture on the finish with tar and tobacco lining the finish. You could broach this now since it is not destined to be a long-term Gruaud that just lacks excitement and sophistication. Tasted from half-bottle at the château. Drinking range: 2019 - 2032 Rating: 88 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jul 2018)

Good deep red. Musky, gamey aromas of plum, dark chocolate, cocoa powder and roasted oak. Fat, plummy and lush, but with decent spine to give the wine shape. Sweet but not overly so, offering more breadth than depth. Finishes with dusty, horizontal tannins. Rating: 89 Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar (May 2009)

Château Gruaud Larose

St Julien Deuxième cru 1855 The story of Château Gruaud Larose starts with Joseph Stanislas Gruaud who developed the estate in the early 18th Century. Two of his descendents ended up with different halves of the Gruaud estate until, in 1778, Chevalier de Gruaud died and left his portion to his son-in-law Joseph Sébastien de la Rose who immediately appended his name to the estate. Gruaud-Larose was split further in 1867, with Château Gruaud-Larose-Sarget and Château Gruaud-Larose-Faure being seperate until 1935 when the Cordier family, who'd bought the Sarget half in 1919, bought Gruaud-Larose-Faure and put the old estate back together again. Ownership by the Cordiers, and the association with other similarly labelled wines in the portfolio - Talbot, Meyney - kept Château Gruaud Larose as a consistent favourite among Bordeaux lovers. Gruaud-Larose is now owned by the Taillan Group. There are 82ha of vineyard, just to the south west of Beychevelle - 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec. A second wine was introduced in 1979 - Sarget de Gruaud-Larose. Gruaud-Larose is among the fuller-bodied styles of St Julien, producing consistently good wines and, whilst the crown of "best estate in St Julien" sits with Leoville Las Cases, the wines of Gruaud-Larose are always worth following.

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