Gruaud Larose - Saint-Julien 2016

Vinous

93

byNeal Martinthe4/2/2024

The 2016 Gruaud Larose has a beautiful nose that is much more pure than the vintages from the noughties. It's well-defined with blackberry, blueberry and crushed violet scents. This is much more floral in style. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannins, supple and poised, with a gentle build in the mouth, but, to use a word I wrote before, there is something sedate about this Gruaud; it doesn’t want to create too much fuss. Lovely. Tasted at the Gruaud Larose vertical at the château in February 2023.

Vinous

93

byNeal Martinthe8/13/2020

The 2016 Gruaud Larose has a surfeit of red berry fruit laced with rose petal and light crushed stone aromas on the generous, open nose. The palate is medium-bodied with lithe tannins and underpinned by a fine bead of acidity. It comes across sedate and nonchalant, not determined to become the greatest Saint-Julien, but so supple and lithe that you cannot help falling for its charms. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting.

Jancis Robinson

17

byJancis Robinsonthe2/5/2020

Jamessuckling.com

94

byJames Sucklingthe4/25/2019

So much sweet-tobacco and currant character with some earth on the nose. Full body, firm and chewy tannins and a long and flavorful finish. Closed and complex still, but a typically beautiful Bordeaux. Try after 2022.

Wine Spectator

93

byJames Molesworththe2/5/2019

This has a wide range of red currant, blackberry, black cherry and açaí berry fruit flavors forming the core, with a very sleek iron note lurking underneath it all. The finish uses a fine singed wood stitching to pull the fruit and minerality together. Lovely. Best from 2023 through 2038. 12,200 cases made.  –JM

Vinous

93

byNeal Martinthe1/24/2019

The 2016 Gruaud-Larose has quite a fruit-driven, generous bouquet of layers of black and red fruit laced with graphite and tertiary aromas. Is there just a slight touch of brettanomyces here? The medium-bodied palate is earthy and a little ferrous, with rounded tannin, and quite approachable compared to its peers. Slightly smudged toward the finish, but it shows great persistence. Very fine, very Gruaud.

Wine Advocate

94

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe11/30/2018

The 2016 Gruaud Larose is blended of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it leaps from the glass with notes of red and black cherries, warm plums and freshly crushed blackcurrants plus hints of violets, oolong tea, aniseed and tilled soil with a waft of garrigue. Medium-bodied, the palate struts tons of elegantly fragrant red and black fruit flavors with a firm backbone of ripe, grainy tannins and loads of freshness, finishing long and perfumed.

Decanter.com

95

byJane Ansonthe10/31/2018

WeinWisser

18

byTjark Witzgallthe5/22/2017

69 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 29 % Merlot, 2 % Cabernet Franc, 13 vol %. Ausbau in 80 % neuen Barriquesfür 18-24 Monate. Sattes Purpur mit lila Reflexen und violettem Rand. Veilchen satt im offenen Bouquet, dahinter Brombeere und dunkle Kirsche, heller Tabak und schwarze Johannisbeere. Am kräftigen Gaumen mit engmaschigem Körper und reifem Tannin, was für eine Konzentration im Rückaroma! Eine volle Ladung blauer Beeren und Lakritze. Grandioser Gruaud mit gewaltigem Potenzial!

Bettane & Desseauve

96-97

by Bettane & Desseauvethe5/3/2017

Grande pureté aromatique, texture suave, immédiatement ouverte, plus précis et plus abouti que les meilleurs échantillons présentés par le passé. Un échantillon présenté au château Talbot, surboisé, pourra expliquer certaines critiques.

Wine Advocate

93-95

byNeal Martinthe5/2/2017

The 2016 Gruaud Larose is a blend of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc this year, picked between 29 September until 15 October (with the Petit Verdot) and matured in 80% new oak, the remainder one or two years old. The alcohol is a modest 13.02%. It has a generous bouquet with scents of blackberry, briary, a touch of sandalwood and tobacco, gaining more precision as it aerates in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, certainly one of the most finessed Gruaud Larose in recent years, with perfectly judged acidity. I love the focus here, a little understated at first but you cannot deny the intensity and precision on the finish. Moreover, this seems to be a slightly more detailed Gruaud, nuanced and long in the mouth. Excellent—and I suspect it might be a little more approachable than some of its peers.

The Wine Cellar Insider

91-93

byJeff Levethe4/27/2017

Cassis, tobacco and espresso with a good hit of cedar to arouse the olfactory system. A fresh, red berry side of the style range, there is a softness to the tannins that brings out the best in the crunchy currants and blackberry fruits in the finish. This will require time in the bottle to come around. Good girls don’t come easy. I mean good things take time. 

matthewjukes.com

17,5

byMatthew Jukesthe4/25/2017

(61 Cabernet Sauvignon, 29 Merlot, 7 Cabernet Franc, 3 Petit Verdot) | 70% new oak | 13% alc. | 66 IPT Very succulent and buoyant on the palate this is an indulgent Gruaud with stern tannins which finish off a medium- weight palate which is dotted with green highlights. Cooler and calmer than most this is a slightly confusing wine in 2016 and while everything seems in place it lacks the true lift and personality associated with this esteemed property. 17.5+

Decanter.com

95

byJane Ansonthe4/24/2017

A balanced, measured, incredibly tight delivery of the triumvirate of tannins, fruit and acidity. The architecture hits the level of the 2010, fairly unusual in a year where the tannins have such a deft brush stroke in the main. This is a great Gruaud that is going to run and run. Aged for 18 months in 80% new oak. As of 2017, half of the vineyard (approximately 40ha) is being worked biodynamically. Drinking Window 2027 - 2050

Jancis Robinson

17,5

byJancis Robinsonthe4/21/2017

Initially there's a whiff of sweet oak, and then underneath there is the vineyard and real savour. Ripe but not forced. Good stuff with a 'mineral' whiff. Not a blockbuster but very well balanced with lovely length. 

Wine Enthusiast

92-94

byRoger Vossthe4/19/2017

Barrel Sample. This wine is rich and juicy, with fine tannins that come as much from the fruit as from the wood aging. It shows great promise for positive development.

Wine Spectator

91-94

byJames Molesworththe4/10/2017

This delivers a pure beam of cassis and cherry preserves, underscored by a layer of warm dark earth. Stays polished in feel, with lovely freshness on the relatively open-knit finish.—J.M.

Jamessuckling.com

95-96

byJames Sucklingthe4/5/2017

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