Wine Advocate (98)

A massive wine that is clearly of first-growth quality in this vintage, the 1982 Gruaud Larose remains a youngster. A broodingly dense, thick, unctuously textured, inky/plum/garnet/purple color offers up scents of beef blood, steak tartare, cassis, herbs, tobacco, and underbrush. One of the most concentrated wines of the vintage (as well as one of the most concentrated Bordeaux’s I have ever tasted), it is a huge, full-bodied, weighty, rich wine whose tannins are getting silkier and silkier. It appears set for another 30-40 years of life. This behemoth is a singularly profound example of Gruaud Larose that continues to justify its legendary status. Anticipated maturity: now-2050. Release price: ($140.00/case)

Wine Advocate (98)

A massive wine that is clearly of first-growth quality in this vintage, the 1982 Gruaud Larose remains a youngster. A broodingly dense, thick, unctuously textured, inky/plum/garnet/purple color offers up scents of beef blood, steak tartare, cassis, herbs, tobacco, and underbrush. One of the most concentrated wines of the vintage (as well as one of the most concentrated Bordeaux’s I have ever tasted), it is a huge, full-bodied, weighty, rich wine whose tannins are getting silkier and silkier. It appears set for another 30-40 years of life. This behemoth is a singularly profound example of Gruaud Larose that continues to justify its legendary status. Anticipated maturity: now-2050. Release price: ($140.00/case)

Vinous - Ian D'Agata (88)

(64% cabernet sauvignon, 29% merlot, 5% petit verdot and 2% cabernet franc): Bright medium-deep red. Minerals and herbs lift delicate red berry and floral aromas. Enters the mouth fresh, suave and sweet, then turns slightly hollow in the middle, showing clean flavors of red cherry, tobacco and licorice. Finishes with surprising lingering sweetness for a so-so vintage. This charming, medium-bodied wine only lacks a little flesh for a higher score. This was a pleasant surprise in this vertical tasting and should make a very good restaurant wine.

Vinous - Ian D'Agata (91+)

(64% cabernet sauvignon, 26% merlot, 7% cabernet franc and 3% petit verdot; IPT 74; 13% alcohol): Dark ruby. Deep, brooding nose hints at dark plum, blackcurrant, coffee and lavender accented by cinnamon and nutmeg. Enters bright and fresh, then turns richer in the middle, with accessible plum, herb and coffee flavors persisting nicely on the peppery finish, which features chewy tannins. This is at once more herbal and more forward than the 1995. It's also better than I remember it, and although still quite young it offers plenty of appeal. The wine's harmonious acidity makes it seem lighter-bodied than it is. About 40% of the malolactic fermentation was carried out in barriques, compared to a normal one-third. Note that the label states 12.5% alcohol, but the data given to me by the estate shows 13% alcohol.

Wine Spectator (95-100)

This wine is black. Super aromas of licorice and tar, then violets. Full-bodied, with sleek and racy tannins. Very long finish. Best Gruaud ever? Score range: 95-100

Wine Spectator (95-100)

This wine is black. Super aromas of licorice and tar, then violets. Full-bodied, with sleek and racy tannins. Very long finish. Best Gruaud ever? Score range: 95-100

Wine Enthusiast (94)

What a perfumed, elegant, structured wine, with all the elements of fruit, wood, tannins just in the right place. It shows great tannins, powerful black and red berry fruits, denseness, and a classic, fresh aftertaste.

Wine Spectator (95-100)

Pure cassis and raspberry sauce with vanilla. Full-bodied, with big, velvety tannins and a finish that lasts a very long time. Awesome wine. This is very close in quality to the 2000. Score range: 95-100

Wine Spectator (95-100)

Pure cassis and raspberry sauce with vanilla. Full-bodied, with big, velvety tannins and a finish that lasts a very long time. Awesome wine. This is very close in quality to the 2000. Score range: 95-100

Wine Spectator (94-97)

Beautiful aromas of currant, black licorice and blueberry follow through to a full body, with chewy tannins and a long, juicy finish. Big wine. Could be better than the classic 2000. Score range: 94-97 -JS

Decanter (94)

Very fine florality and purity on first impression – less of the meatiness of past vintages. The classic Gruaud-Larose smoothness is there along with added precision. Great attention to detail; a very fine claret.

James Suckling (95-96)

Full-bodied, layered and juicy young wine. Very tannic yet ripe and intense. Powerful finish. This will be excellent. Better than the 2015.

Wine Advocate (95-97)

The 2018 Gruaud Larose is blended of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc, with a pH of 3.88 and 14.2% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple in color, it leaps from the glass with bold black cherries, mulberries, plum preserves and blackcurrant cordial scents with hints of menthol, lilacs, licorice and cloves plus wafts of fallen leaves and tilled soil. Medium to full-bodied with a taut core of ripe, densely packed, muscular fruit, it has a firm line of ripe, grainy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long and spicy. Very exotic Gruaud!

Wine Advocate (95-97)

The 2018 Gruaud Larose is blended of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc, with a pH of 3.88 and 14.2% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple in color, it leaps from the glass with bold black cherries, mulberries, plum preserves and blackcurrant cordial scents with hints of menthol, lilacs, licorice and cloves plus wafts of fallen leaves and tilled soil. Medium to full-bodied with a taut core of ripe, densely packed, muscular fruit, it has a firm line of ripe, grainy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long and spicy. Very exotic Gruaud!

Wine Advocate (95-97)

The 2018 Gruaud Larose is blended of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc, with a pH of 3.88 and 14.2% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple in color, it leaps from the glass with bold black cherries, mulberries, plum preserves and blackcurrant cordial scents with hints of menthol, lilacs, licorice and cloves plus wafts of fallen leaves and tilled soil. Medium to full-bodied with a taut core of ripe, densely packed, muscular fruit, it has a firm line of ripe, grainy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long and spicy. Very exotic Gruaud!

Decanter (96)

A gorgeous dark purple colour in the glass with a bright pink rim. It is a little reticent on the nose, just giving a hint of fragranced fruit with dark chocolate, caramel and sweet coffee touches - so inviting. Ultra sleek and suave on the palate but at the same time racy and vibrant. A combination of rich black fruits and quite savoury aspects on the palate, tar, tobacco and wood smoke with black currants and cherries but here the emphasis really is on those herbal, medicinal aspects that give this such a serious tone but also such interest and intrigue. Lifted and bright on the palate but soft tannins letting the aromatics do all the talking. Seductive. Will be incredibly moreish in a few years.

Wine Advocate (96)

A serious, more obviously structured effort than the suave 2019, the 2020 Gruaud Larose opens in the glass with aromas of blackcurrants and blackberries mingled with subtle hints of burning embers, pencil shavings and violets framed by a deft touch of classy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with rich, powdery tannins and vibrant fruit flavors, it concludes with an impressively penetrating finish. However, it appears likely to require patience.

Wine Advocate (96)

A serious, more obviously structured effort than the suave 2019, the 2020 Gruaud Larose opens in the glass with aromas of blackcurrants and blackberries mingled with subtle hints of burning embers, pencil shavings and violets framed by a deft touch of classy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with rich, powdery tannins and vibrant fruit flavors, it concludes with an impressively penetrating finish. However, it appears likely to require patience.

Wine Advocate (96)

A serious, more obviously structured effort than the suave 2019, the 2020 Gruaud Larose opens in the glass with aromas of blackcurrants and blackberries mingled with subtle hints of burning embers, pencil shavings and violets framed by a deft touch of classy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with rich, powdery tannins and vibrant fruit flavors, it concludes with an impressively penetrating finish. However, it appears likely to require patience.

The Drinks Business (95-97+)

Gruaud Larose (St Julien; 84% Cabernet Sauvignon; 12% Merlot; 4% Cabernet Franc; 12.5% alcohol; tasted between appointments at the property with Arnaud Frédéric and, later, at Lagrange with consistent if initially rather hastily written notes). I had some trouble tracking down a sample as this was not presented at the UGC press tasting at the Cité du Vin. But I am really pleased that I persisted as this is staggeringly brilliant and definitely one of the wines of the vintage – as, indeed, it was in 2020 (not that many people tasted it en primeur either). A very dark cool-vintage Cabernet nose – of brambles and blackberry, with a touch of cassis that builds in the glass with aeration. There is great presence and intensity to the pure dark bright, fresh crunchy fruit in a deeply expressive and impressively aromatically striking nose. Thyme, freshly plucked from the stalk, a stony minerality, and graphite and pencil-shavings. On the palate, this is plunge-pool deep, dense and compact yet with a wondrously graceful lift and elegance to it. Archetypally Gruaud Larose – with all that graphite minerality– but taken to a new level texturally. The 2021 is fabulously intense, deep dark and utterly captivating. There is incredible purity, great layering and pixilation, and yet a degree of density and profundity that is really rare in the vintage, even in St Julien. The bright aerial fruit provides loads of mid-palate interest. On the finish this is lively and racy, with a touch of cool menthol and a lovely grip from the tannins that ripple gloriously to a distant vanishing point, cleansing the palate as they do. This really flows and there is a brilliant tension between the tannins that want to strap the fruit to the compact linear spine and the exuberance of the fruit that glides and glistens in a brilliant sinuous crystalline river of fresh juiciness. This is right up there with Las Cases for me in this vintage.

Decanter (97)

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).

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (94-96)

The 2023 Gruaud Larose is a powerhouse. Rich and ample, with striking depth, the 2023 offers notable resonance from start to finish. Black cherry, blackberry, licorice and spice fill out the layers nicely. The 2023 is a big, potent Gruaud Larose that will need a number of years to be at its best. This is a terrific example of the vintage at its finest.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (94-96)

The 2023 Gruaud Larose is a powerhouse. Rich and ample, with striking depth, the 2023 offers notable resonance from start to finish. Black cherry, blackberry, licorice and spice fill out the layers nicely. The 2023 is a big, potent Gruaud Larose that will need a number of years to be at its best. This is a terrific example of the vintage at its finest.

Wine Enthusiast (90)

There is a high level of wood here, but that is sustained by the weight of the black fruits and the rich tannins. The wood gives a vanilla character that will disappear in a year or two, leaving a solid wine that is dominated by ripe, sweet Merlot.

James Suckling (94)

Aromas of black tea, blackberries, blueberries and coffee bean, follow through to a full body, with velvety tannins and a juicy finish. Lovely mouth feel. Very well done. Try in 2019.