Château Gruaud Larose 2019 [magnum]

The Wine Independent

VertdeVin

The nose is fruity, elegant, beautifully racy and offers precision, power with finesse and a very fine, racy / discreetly tight grain. There are notes of creamy boysenberry, wild strawberry and more slightly crushed red currant combined with fine hints of black cherry, liquorice, cardamom as well as fine hints of spice, colas and a subtle hint of salinity/gravity. The palate is fresh, mineral, balanced, fine/clear and offers a nice definition, a “fresh velvet” side, power with finesse/mastery, roundness, a fine creaminess and a fine grain. A little airiness in its richness. A discreet side of restraint but with elegance. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of creamy blackcurrant, boysenberry and, more slightly, saline minerality combined with hints of wild strawberry, fresh/creamy berries, fine toasted notes and a very discreet hint of roasting, Bourbon vanilla and an imperceptible touch of pepper. A very discreet and nice work on positive bitterness. The tannins are sapid, elegant, racy and delicate. An imperceptible hint of eucalyptus in the background. A very nice persistence.

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2019 Gruaud Larose is performing extremely well in bottle, wafting from the glass with aromas of wild berries and plums mingled with notions of licorice, potpourri, pencil shavings and subtle soil tones. Medium to full-bodied, elegant and seamless, with powdery tannins and succulent acids, it's remarkably suave and refined for a wine of obvious breadth, concentration and power.

In the last few years, Gruaud Larose has been transformed. This 92-hectare vineyard, occupying a single block on the plateau of Saint-Julien, has been extensively restructured: in the past, Merlot, susceptible to frost, had been planted in the highest parts of the vineyards for protection—but those just happened to be the sites best adapted to Cabernet Sauvignon. Now, varieties and soil types are better matched (50% of the vineyard has been replanted); yields are lower, and farming is better: 2019 marked the beginning of organic conversion, but beyond that, the aspiration is to create a durable ecosystem, with wildlife corridors, agroforestry (3,000 trees have been planted), insect houses and so on; soils are worked less often and less deeply and sowed with cover crops. In the winery, the fruit sees multiple sorting before macerations that are gentle but protracted, at comparatively low temperatures, and great attention is paid to selecting which lots of press wine to include in the blend. The results, as the 2019 testifies, are compelling. This doesn't mark a return to the muscular, rich, rustic style of the Cordier era's heyday but nor does contemporary Gruaud Larose have anything in common with the rather lean, malnourished wines frequently produced in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Instead, we are learning that Gruaud Larose can produce wines that are both elegant and intense. If this trajectory continues, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the château will be entering a new golden era.

Jeb Dunnuck

I wasn't able to taste the 2019 Château Gruaud Larose from barrel, but it's certainly an impressive Saint-Julien in bottle. Deep purple, with beautiful cassis and darker raspberry fruits as well as spice, dried flowers, and cedary incense notes, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness carrying plenty of sweet tannins, a deep, concentrated mid-palate, and beautiful length. It's not the dense blockbuster style of the 2018 and is much more elegant and pretty, with plenty of up-front charm. It's beautifully done. It's going to benefit from just short-term bottle age and have 25+ years of prime drinking.

James Suckling

Attractive aromas of ripe dark and blue fruit, vanilla, dark chocolate, hazelnuts and wet soil. Dense and compact with layers of polished tannins that hold long and even on the palate. Firm finish with notes of chocolate and crushed stones. Pretty finish. Try after 2026.