CHÂTEAU GRUAUD LAROSE

2020 2ème Cru Classé Saint Julien

EN PRIMEUR

Market Insight: Gruaud shot themselves in the foot in 2019. No one tasted it, but I can't help but remain convinced that they made their best wine ever. So much has been done to revamp the Chateau and vineyards, with this being the first vintage to truly reap the rewards. I think going forward, if they ever get scored, we'll be seeing wine at the 95+ point level. Low yields in St Julien this year will probably only contribute to quality.L&S (May 2021)

* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.

A lovely softness and texture to this wine with a medium to full body, plenty of fruit and fine velvety tannins. It’s lovely to taste now and will age beautifully. Really seductive. Hard not to drink now but one for the cellar. Best to try after 2025. Rating: 96 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2023)

The 2020 Gruaud-Larose is a powerful, dense wine. Super-ripe dark cherry, kirsch, menthol, licorice, rose petal and espresso infuse the palate with tons of intensity. Unctuous and flamboyant, the 2020 also offers a good bit of energy to keep things in balance. The 2020 is very much an extrovert, a gorgeous extrovert at that. Sweet floral and spice accents, along with a kick of sweet French oak, linger. Drinking range: 2027 - 2045 Rating: 95 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)

The 2020 Gruaud Larose is emblematic of a cleaner, more precise winemaking compared to a decade ago. The bouquet is quite perfumed and beautifully delineated, maybe not the most complex within the appellation, yet very nicely focused. The palate is precise and minerally on the entry, with more tension than the 2019 perhaps, a little more salinity. A combination of Japanese nori and black pepper enlivens the finish. This may well warrant a higher score in the future. There's still a little way to go before this estate reaches the heights of the 1982 for example, but it's definitely on track. Drinking range: 2026 - 2060 Rating: 93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)

Rock-solid, with a core of dark plum, boysenberry and blackberry compote flavors held together with cedar, savory, tobacco and singed apple wood notes that add texture and energy through the finish. Built for the cellar. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Drinking range: 2030 - 2040 Rating: 95 The Wine Spectator, www.winespectator.com (Dec 2022)

Elegant yet driven with gentle power, nothing going overboard or trying too hard. This takes a beat, then it comes strongly - evident spice and flesh, full of raspberry, blueberry, blackcurrant pastille, fennel, hawthorn and liquorice. The tannins build up through the palate and press in on the final moments. Virginie Salette winemaker since 2017. A yield of 32hl/ha. Vinify at around 22-23°C, so an extremely low and slow extraction. Harvest was from September 14 to 29. A big shouldered St-Julien but with a wide nuance of flavours. Drinking range: 2028 - 2042 Rating: 95 Jane Anson, Decanter (May 2021)

79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc. Highest percentage yet of Cabernet in the blend. Fruit-driven and structured. Plenty of drive from the word go. Builds on the palate in persistent fashion, the refined tannins giving a long linear flow. Lovely fruit. Delicious now but has ageing potential. Drinking range: 2028 - 2045 Rating: 17.5 James Lawther MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2021)

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.

Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.

Ordering

Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.

Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.

Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.

Confirmation

All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.

Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.

Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.

Delivery

  • Shipment to our bond (at LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
  • Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
  • Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
  • Delivery of 2022 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2025. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.

Practical notes - how it works

We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.

Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.

Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.

One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-

  • +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
  • +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
  • +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
  • +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
  • +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
  • +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.

Storage Options:

Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2025. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.