Sarget de Gruaud Larose, Saint Julien 2019, Bordeaux, France

About Chateau Gruaud Larose:

The estate
A historical reference of the Saint-Julien appellation, Château Gruaud Larose was founded in 1757, when different estates merged. The property received its current name when the heir of Joseph Gruaud added “Larose” to his name, thus becoming Château Gruaud Larose. Acquired by the Merlaut family in 1997, Château Gruaud Larose embodies the excellence of the fine red wines of Saint-Julien and seduces fans of the appellation with its signature style.

The vineyard
Enjoying a superb location in the Saint-Julien appellation, the Château Gruaud Larose vineyard covers 82 hectares of Quaternary Garonne gravel soils, more than 600,000 years old. The vines are 46 years old on average. The vineyard of Château Gruaud Larose is managed with sustainable viticultural practices that show respect to the environment, such as soil ploughing, the use of organic fertilisers, planting hedges, grassing the vine rows and introducing sheep to graze the latter.

Description: 2nd wine of Ch. Gruaud Larose. 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot. 14 months in French oak barrels (15% new, the rest 1-2 years old).

“The 2019 Sarget de Gruaud-Larose has a well-defined bouquet with tertiary red berry fruit, understated initially but gaining intensity with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, quite tarry with a fair proportion of tobacco and black pepper on the finish. There is quite a lot going on in this wine and it should age well in bottle.” – Antonio Galloni’s Vinous

Sarget de Gruaud-Larose is the second wine of Château Gruaud-Larose. A blend of 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot and the remainder a mix of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, it’s far more approachable in its youth than the dark and brooding Grand Vin. Expect notes of hedgerow berries, cherries, plum, crème de cassis, mocha, spices, and rose and violet chocolate creams. 2019 was a fabulous year for claret, with Jancis Robinson noting, “This was a pretty wonderful vintage for producers… The wines shone in a blind retasting in January 2023 and the vintage was voted by tasters the best in the previous 10 years.” This red is a fantastic window into its delights.

Saint Julien’s Château Gruaud-Larose is much loved among Bordeaux connoisseurs. The fortunes of this producer, which can trace its history all the way back to a knight called Joseph Stanislas Gruaud in the early 1700s, can only be described as a rollercoaster. Maybe that’s why it’s so adored, the thrill of the chase, because when it’s good, it’s truly one of Bordeaux’s finest.

Château Gruaud-Larose is now owned by the Taillan Group’s Jacques Merlaut, who also runs Châteaux La Gurgue, Haut-Bages-Libéral, Citran, Ferrière, Chasse-Spleen, Rabaud Promis and more. Its Grand Vin is one of Saint Julien’s most full-bodied and long-lived wines, definitely one to tuck away in the cellar for a few years while the tannins soften. However, the second wine – named after the family who built the château – drinks beautifully on release.