2023 Sarget de Gruaud Larose, St Julien, Bordeaux

2023 Sarget de Gruaud Larose, St Julien, Bordeaux

Product: 20238004396
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Prices start from £116.00 per case Buying options
2023 Sarget de Gruaud Larose, St Julien, Bordeaux

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Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
Case format
Availability
Price per case
1 x 300cl double magnum
Berry Bros. & Rudd BB&R 2 cases £116.00
En Primeur Limited availability
En Primeur Limited availability
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Description

Vivid iris colour, floral aromatics, a little subdued on the opening notes, touches of tar, blueberry and raspberry fruits, and edges of tobacco leaf and cocoa bean, enjoyable. Harvest September 11 to October 3, 15% new oak for 12 months. 42hl/h yield

Drink 2027 - 2038

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux (April 2024)

wine at a glance

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Critics reviews

Jane Anson90/100

Vivid iris colour, floral aromatics, a little subdued on the opening notes, touches of tar, blueberry and raspberry fruits, and edges of tobacco leaf and cocoa bean, enjoyable. Harvest September 11 to October 3, 15% new oak for 12 months. 42hl/h yield

Drink 2027 - 2038

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux (April 2024)

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Neal Martin, Vinous86-88/100

The 2023 Sarget de Gruaud Larose, matured in 15% new oak, displays a deep purple hue. The nose is quite "punchy" for a Deuxième Vin, with plenty of black cherries, iodine and light cedar scents. The palate is medium-bodied with a structured, slightly chewy entry, licorice-infused black fruit and firm grip; there is a bullishness about this Sarget, so afford it a couple of years before pulling the cork. 

Drink 2026 - 2036

Neal Martin, Vinous.com (April 2024

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Antonio Galloni, Vinous90-92/100

The 2023 Sarget de Gruaud Larose is a pretty serious second wine. Succulent dark cherry, plum, licorice, spice and mocha are all front and center. The presence of the fruit here is alluring. Soft, plush contours wrap it all together in style. I very much like the depth here.

Drink 2025 - 2038

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (April 2024)

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Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW86-88/100

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2023 Sarget de Gruaud Larose skips out with vivacious notes of Morello cherries, juicy raspberries, and fresh plums leading to an undercurrent of violets, wood smoke, and fragrant soil. The light to medium-bodied palate is soft and refreshing, with a savory personality and soft-spoken finish. The blend is 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40.5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 3.5% Petit Verdot.

Drink 2026 - 2033

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent (May 2024)

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Jancis Robinson MW16/20

52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40.5% Merlot, 3.5% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc. Certified organic. Cask sample.

Forward, engaging with crunchy fruit. Linear and fresh with light, fine tannins. Appealing early drinking.

Drink 2026 - 2035

James Lawther MW, JancisRobinson.com (April 2024)

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Decanter92/100

Dark berries on the nose, lots of herbal tones, blackcurrant and clove spice. Really bright and vibrant, juicy and so succulent. Clean and crisp, lots of menthol freshness with clove and cedar. I love the graphite mineral undertone that lingers on the finish. Clean, lean, straight, but extremely well defined and finessed with crisp red fruits, strawberry, cranberry and just-ripe raspberry. Tangy, slick and straight but alive with personality. A great second wine, punchy and forthright. 3.5% Petit Verdot completes the blend.

Drink 2027 - 2039

Georgina Hindle, Decanter (April 2024)

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About this WINE

Chateau Gruaud Larose

Chateau Gruaud Larose

Château Gruaud-Larose is a 2ème Cru Classé property that produces one of St-Julien's most full-bodied and long-lived wines.

For many years Gruaud-Larose was owned by the négociants Cordier, who also own Château Talbot. It was sold in 1993 to the French conglomerate, Alcastel Alstom, which in turn sold it to the Taillan Group, owners of Chasse-Spleen and  Haut-Bages-Libéral, in 1997. The talented Georges Pauli has remained as régisseur and winemaker throughout all these changes.

Gruaud-Larose has 84 hectares of vineyards located on a gravel-rich plateau just to the west of Château Beychevelle. The wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (65%), Merlot (25%), Cabernet Franc (8%) and Petit Verdot (2%). Vinification takes place in a mixture of wooden vats and cement tanks and the wine is aged in oak barriques (30% new) for 18 months.

Gruaud-Larose can be tannic and ungainly in youth but with bottle ageing it becomes marvellously harmonious and develops complex and beguiling characteristics of concentrated black fruits, cedar, spices and liquorice.

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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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When is a wine ready to drink?

We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.

Not ready

These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.

Ready - youthful

These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.

Ready - at best

These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.

Ready - mature

These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.