CHÂTEAU GRUAUD LAROSE
2022 2ème Cru Classé Saint Julien
The 2022 Gruaud Larose was picked from 7 to 24 September and includes a little more pressed wine this year: 13.5% exclusively from Cabernet Sauvignon due to the quality. This latest vintage matured for a planned 18 months in 95% new oak. Significantly, this is the first year under organic certification (notice two storks on the label signifying this. Maybe they are carrying a little Gruaud baby?) At 13.64% alcohol, this is less than many other properties for those seeking slower intoxication. It has an impressive bouquet with pure blackberry and raspberry fruit, black truffle and sous-bois scents. I am impressed by its delineation and focus; frankly, these are the nicest aromatics I've encountered for a while at this address. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannins. I cannot remember a Gruaud at this nascent stage that exhibits this level of energy and tension deriving from the Cabernet Sauvignon extracted at the beginning of vinification. There's much more precision here. Mineral-driven toward the finish, this easily surpasses vintages made at the estate over the last decade and more. Perhaps like the legendary Gruauds of old (1982, 1961, 1928, even 1870)? Gruaud reborn. Drinking range: 2028 - 2070 Rating: 95-97 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2023)
* 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.
Spicy, intense and concentrated, and yet delivers juicy drinkability from beginning to end, not an easy balance to achieve in 2022. The vintage trace comes through in notes of tobacco, dried herbs, cloves and sandalwood, with tannic build up through the palate, but it is balanced by fresh mint leaf, cassis, bilberry, cocoa bean, and salinity. Firm tannic architecture, excellent quality. 33% of production in the 1st wine, 95% new oak. mint, Drinking range: 2030 - 2050 Rating: 96 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (Apr 2023)
83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc. 95% new oak. 13.64% alc. This wine has a slightly menacing edge, and the stats and flavours bear this out. Big Cab, big oak, keen alcohol (particularly considering the vintage) and one of the most unwavering and no-nonsense flavours of the year make this an unnervingly impressive wine. While I don’t love it, as in really love it, and it is not pretty, it is awe-inspiring. Like brutalist architecture, and I suppose the odd-looking watchtower in the vineyard at Gruaud, I admire these buildings but don’t love them. So it follows that I greatly admire this wine with its naked spice, intricate sinew and bulletproof carapace of fruit, and it will age metronomically, and I hope that one day it will find tenderness and relax a little, but I am not betting on it. If you are lining up to buy a case, make sure that you bookend this purchase with two more kindly and more relaxed wines because you will need them when you come to open a bottle of 2022 GL. Rating: 18.5+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (May 2023)
This is the first vintage in which the property is certified organic. The blend is 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc, all currently resting in 95% new oak. The yield was 30 hl/ha in total, divided between the two wines, with some sold off in bulk. This has a very convincing nose, with griottes, violets, rose petals and dark chocolate, very cleanly expressed. This translates onto a deliciously harmonious palate, with a supple and velvety core of dark fruits, with currants, toast, violets and dark chocolate, set in a delicious texture, supported by a fine-grained core of tannins. This is very convincing, very cleanly defined, with good energy and cohesion, and a rich, ripe tannic grip nicely hidden within. Is this the highest score I have given Gruaud-Larose for some years? Probably. The alcohol is 13.64%. Rating: 93-95 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (May 2023)
83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc. Certified organic. Cask sample. Deep crimson hue. Cassis and mineral nose. Juicy and vibrant with a real notion of drinkability. Elegant texture and tannins. Very long finish. Plenty of charm but substance as well. (JL) 13.6% Drinking range: 2032 - 2048 Rating: 17.5 James Lawther MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (May 2023)
Another excellently consistent wine from Gruaud in 2022 that gives terroir typicality with crystalline purity and such overall charm. Smooth and supple, silky but firm, generous but serious. Gorgeous acidity keeps the palate lifted and fresh while the concentrated fruit and quite present tannins give the structure and frame. I love the detail and purity, powerful and strong but refined. Direct with energy and juicy, vibrant acidity. Mineral, graphite and liquorice aspects grip the palate and linger on the finish with soft spices. Has a very moreish quality with approachability but the racy core and intense backbone suggests long ageing potential. 3.8pH. 3.45g/l total acidity. 40% production. 13% press wine (only Cabernet Sauvignon). Rating: 97 Georgie Hindle - Decanter (May 2023)
The progress at this estate continues with the terrific 2022 Gruaud Larose, a blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc that unfurls in the glass with deep aromas of minty blackberries, violets and pencil shavings. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, it's elegantly muscular, with a broad attack that segues into a concentrated mid-palate framed by supple, powdery tannins. Richer and more brooding than its 2020 and 2019 counterparts, it confirms Gruaud's return to the Saint-Julien élite. Around one-third of the production made it into the grand vin this year, the château's first with organic certification. Rating: 94-96 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Apr 2023)
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.
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 2024 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2026. 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 2026. 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.