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: 2015 Gruaud-Larose, St-Julien

2015 Gruaud-Larose, St-Julien

SKU #1400697 95 points James Suckling

Outer quote mark Concentrated and elegant with a great harmony of dry tannins and ripeness (but no hint of overripeness), this has a long finish with a lot of drive and enormous freshness. You could drink this now with red meat, but it’s got decades ahead of it. Inner quote mark (2/2018)

95 points Wine Enthusiast

Outer quote mark The ripe fruit that is a hallmark of this vintage at this estate has been maintained along with solid tannins and richness. This has both tannins and concentration although the fruit is the thing, making a wine that will develop relatively quickly. Drink from 2023. (RV) Inner quote mark (2/2018)

94 points Decanter

Outer quote mark Excellent depth and complexity of fruit on the attack, with just a touch of austerity as it travels through the palate. After a few minutes, the fleshy fruit aromatics break though. This is elegant and balanced, a classic, old-school St-Julien. 80% new oak. (JA) Inner quote mark (11/2017)

93 points Wine Advocate

Outer quote mark Medium garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Gruaud Larose simply sparkles with bright, vibrant red cherries, ripe raspberries and fresh black currants notes with underlying suggestions of cinnamon stick, rose petals, fallen leaves and dried Provence herbs. Medium to full-bodied and possessing tightly wound red and black fruits layers intermingled with spicy accents, it has a firm, grainy frame and great vivacity, finishing long and perfumed. I'm probably being too conservative with my score here and expect this could blossom in 4-6 years into an even more impressive beauty! (LPB) 93+ Inner quote mark (2/2018)

93 points Vinous

Outer quote mark Dark, powerful and brooding, the 2015 Gruaud-Larose is a real bruiser. Iron, gravel, smoke, mocha and licorice wrap around a core of intense dark fruit, all with a backbone of big, rustic tannins that give the wine its shape. The 2015 needs a good few years to come together. There is certainly no shortage of personality or character. (AG) Inner quote mark (2/2018)

92 points Wine Spectator

Outer quote mark This has a serious graphite spine, along with beautiful beams of black currant, bitter plum and blackberry paste flavors. Dried anise, black tea and licorice snap notes lurk in the background. The finish is long and gilded with a violet accent. Best from 2021 through 2035. (JM) Inner quote mark (3/2018)

K&L Notes

92+ points Neal Martin: "The 2015 Gruaud Larose has a clean and precise bouquet, a little more sophisticated than it showed out of barrel. It seems to have manifested greater mineralité and delineation that enhances the vivid blackberry and bilberry fruit infused with cedar. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannin, blackberry infused with graphite and cedar that render this Gruaud Larose almost Pauillac in style. No, it does not provide that killer blow on the finish, preferring to remain quite linear and taut (unlike the 2016 that may prove to be superior). Yet this shows careful, judicious winemaking and it may continue to improve in bottle." (Wine Advocate, 2/2018)

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2015 Gruaud-Larose, St-Julien

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Varietal:

Cabernet Sauvignon and Blends

- Cabernet Sauvignon has come a long way from its role as a blending varietal, however dominant, in the wines of Bordeaux. Today it is the most planted red varietal in the world. Identified as a descendent of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, the late-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon needs to be planted in warmer climates to fully ripen. Its small berries can easily be identified for their distinctive blue color, thick skins and high tannins. And while the varietal has its own definitive characteristics: green pepper-like aromas and black currant flavors among them, it is perhaps most prized for its ability to convey terroir, vintage and winemaking. A relatively new varietal, Cabernet Sauvignon started making inroads into the wines of the Médoc and Graves in the late-18th century. Today it is also dominant in the up-and-coming Entre-Deux-Mers region of Bordeaux and can also be found in Southwest France. It is the companion varietal to Sangiovese in Italy's Super Tuscans and is planted all over Europe, stretching to lesser-known winegrowing regions like Russia and Lebanon. In the Americas Cabernet Sauvignon has found champions in every nook and cranny of California and among winemakers in Washington, where it complements plantings of Merlot. In South America, Cab thrives in Chile, but can also be found in smaller amounts in Argentina and even in Mexico.

Country:

France

- When it comes to wine, France stands alone. No other country can beat it in terms of quality and diversity. And while many of its Region, Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne most obviously, produce wine as rare, as sought-after and nearly as expensive as gold, there are just as many obscurities and values to be had from little known appellations throughout the country. To learn everything there is to know about French wine would take a lifetime. To understand and appreciate French wine, one only has to begin tasting them.

Sub-Region:

Bordeaux

Specific Appellation:

Saint Julien

- St. Julien, the smallest of the four famous appellations of the Haut Medoc, is known for highly extracted, finely structured, Cabernet-based reds. It is nestled between Pauillac to the north and Margaux to the south. Like St. Estephe, there are no first growths in this area. Leoville-las-Cases, Leoville Poyferre, Leoville Barton, Ducru Beaucaillou, and Gruard Larose are the second-growths of St. Julien followed by Lagrange which is the only third-growth. Beychevelle, Branaire Ducru, St. Pierre, and Talbot, which are all fourth-growth wines, round out the grand cru classe chateaux. In the last several vintages, wineries from this appellation have been out-performing their traditional rankings making many of the wines from this region some of the best values in red wine today.