Behind the scenes: Ch. Gruaud-Larose

A definite favourite of ours and our customers, Ch. Gruaud-Larose produces one of St. Julien’s most full-bodied and long-lived wines and we were recently fortunate enough to offer you four of its most exceptional vintages - the 1990, 1996, 2004 and 2005. Each of these wines boast a very distinctive personality yet none of them fail to seriously impress - so what is it that makes Ch. Gruaud Larose consistently produce such high-calibre 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. It would be fair to say that the château has seen many changes since its conception yet there has always been one constant…the talented Georges Pauli, who, throughout all these changes has remained as régisseur and winemaker.

Gruaud-Larose now boasts 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.

Becoming marvellously harmonious and developing complex and beguiling characteristics of concentrated black fruits, cedar, spices and liquorice with age, Ch. Gruaud Larose truly is the king of wines and the wine of kings.