Château Gruaud Larose, 2ème Cru Classé, St Julien, 2025
In our opinion, St Julien was the most consistent appellation in the Medoc with many excellent wines. Where chateaux have got it right, there's a gorgeous core of fragrant fruit allied to modest alcohols and a real sense of tension and balance. Gruaud Larose has really upped its game in recent vintages. The 2025 is a triumph and will be marked by a special 300th anniversary gold-engraved label. Lots of purple fruit here interspersed with sweet minerals. Lots of power and a cool profile of dark fruit, tilled earth and graphite. Vivacious yet harmonious with a floral flourish too. Excellent.
critic reviews
The 2025 Gruaud Larose comes in a specially designed etched bottle to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the first vintage labelled as Gruaud Larose (although there were already vines in situ). Picked between September 3 and 20 at 26 hl/ha, average for the appellation, and aged in new oak, it has a less outgoing bouquet than its peers, tightly wound black fruit, sous-bois and tobacco. Fine delineation and firmly classical in style. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly chalky tannins. A more tertiary Gruaud Larose, hints of dark powdered chocolate combine with black fruit, leading to a more structured vintage that lingers nicely in the mouth. Perhaps slightly less deep than some of its peers, this has a tendency to gain weight during élevage. Englishman's claret!
You get the tannic grip of the vintage in spades, but as you sit with the wine, a creaminess appears through the mid palate that is highly appealing, with a cocoa bean and espresso lick alongside berry fruits, crayon and graphite. Smoky signoff on the finish right now, will integrate over ageing, a ton of potential here, great quality. 75% new oak. Virginie Sallette 8th vintage, a lovely expression of Gruaud. Harvest September 3 to 20. 3.71 pH
Unwinding in the glass with notes of dark berries, cassis, plums mingled with hints of violet and pencil shavings, the 2025 Gruaud Larose is medium- to full-bodied, supple and suave, with a deep core of fruit, lovely energy and ripe, powdery tannins. Checking in at 13.5% alcohol, this blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc will bear a special gold label to commemorate the estate's 300th anniversary.