2012 Château Gloria, St Julien, Bordeaux

2012 Château Gloria, St Julien, Bordeaux

Product: 20121010598
 
2012 Château Gloria, St Julien, Bordeaux

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Description

The 2012 is a successful effort once again from Chteau Gloria, a property that has been on a major qualitative roll for decades. Dense ruby/purple in color, it has sweet, juicy, blackcurrant and black cherry fruit, no real evidence of any oak, but a fleshy, open-knit, meaty mouthfeel. Excellent purity, low acidity and ripe tannin all characterize this beautiful wine, which should drink well for 12-15 years. Another major sleeper of the vintage.
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - 30/04/2015

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Critics reviews

Wine Advocate88/100
The 2012 is a successful effort once again from Chteau Gloria, a property that has been on a major qualitative roll for decades. Dense ruby/purple in color, it has sweet, juicy, blackcurrant and black cherry fruit, no real evidence of any oak, but a fleshy, open-knit, meaty mouthfeel. Excellent purity, low acidity and ripe tannin all characterize this beautiful wine, which should drink well for 12-15 years. Another major sleeper of the vintage.
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - 30/04/2015 Read more
Jancis Robinson MW17/20
Very dark purple. Mineral and fresh on the nose – quite a contrast to the flight of Haut-Médoc wines I have just been tasting. Real vitality here. Lots of dryness on the finish but no aggressive underripeness or greenness. Very zesty. Bone dry.
Jancis Robinson MW, jancisrobinson.com, 23 Apr 2013 Read more
Wine Spectator88-91/100
Solid, delivering a beam of raspberry and black currant fruit lined with ganache and backed by chewy yet energetic grip.
James Molesworth, Wine Spectator, April 8 2013 Read more
Robert Parker87-89/100
Another winner from this estate, which has been on a hot streak over recent vintages, the 2012 Gloria is unquestionably of classified growth quality. It offers a dark ruby/purple color, attractive, elegant, herbaceously-tinged black currant fruit, soft tannins, a satisfying, fleshy mouthfeel, a good mid-palate and ripe tannin in the finish. I would not be surprised to see it evolve for 10-12+ years.
Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - Apr 2013 Read more
Decanter17/20
Good depth of black fruits, both succulent and fresh on the palate, ripe elegant flavours, cru classe standard. Read more

About this WINE

Chateau Gloria

Chateau Gloria

Château Gloria is an unclassified St-Julien property that produces clarets that equal in quality those from the more prestigious classed growths. Henri Martin, a cooper by upbringing, took over the property in 1942 and began purchasing plots of vineyards from classed growth properties such as Gruaud-Larose, Talbot, Lagrange and Léoville-Barton. By the mid 1960s he had 50 hectares spread across the appellation. In 1982 he purchased Château St-Pierre and thus realised his lifetime ambition of owning a Grand Cru Classé property.

Henri Martin died in 1991 and Gloria is now run by his son-in-law Jean-Louis Triaud. The wine is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. It is aged in a combination of large oak foudres and small oak barrels (50% new).

Gloria produces a wine that is typically deep in colour and rich, cassis-laden and cedary on the palate. It normally needs 7-10 years of bottle age to show at its best.
 

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St Julien

St Julien

St Julien is the smallest of the "Big Four" Médoc communes. Although, without any First Growths, St Julien is recognised to be the most consistent of the main communes, with several châteaux turning out impressive wines year after year. 

St Julien itself is much more of a village than Pauillac and almost all of the notable properties lie to its south. Its most northerly château is Ch. Léoville Las Cases (whose vineyards actually adjoin those of Latour in Pauillac) but,  further south, suitable vineyard land gives way to arable farming and livestock until the Margaux appellation is reached.  

The soil is gravelly and finer than that of Pauillac, and without the iron content which gives Pauillac its stature. The homogeneous soils in the vineyards (which extend over a relatively small area of just over 700 hectares) give the commune a unified character.

The wines can be assessed as much by texture as flavour, and there is a sleek, wholesome character to the best. Elegance, harmony and perfect balance and weight, with hints of cassis and cedar, are what epitomise classic St Julien wines. At their very best they combine Margaux’s elegance and refinement with Pauillac’s power and substance.

Ch. Léoville Las Cases produces arguably the most sought-after St Julien, and in any reassessment of the 1855 Classification it would almost certainly warrant being elevated to First Growth status.

Recommended Châteaux: Ch. Léoville Las CasesCh.Léoville Barton, Ch Léoville Poyferré, Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou, Ch Langoa Barton, Ch Gruaud Larose, Ch. Branaire-Ducru, Ch. Beychevelle

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Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.

In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.

In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and  Australia.

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