Ch Gruaud-Larose
Grand Vin 2eme Cru Classe
Saint-Julien
2010

The producer

The story of Château Gruaud Larose, a St Julien Deuxième cru from 1855, begins with Joseph Stanislas Gruaud, who developed the estate in the early 18th century. In 1778, after Chevalier de Gruaud's death, his son-in-law Joseph Sébastien de la Rose inherited half of the estate, adding his name to it. By 1867, the estate was split further into Château Gruaud-Larose-Sarget and Château Gruaud-Larose-Faure. The Cordier family, who bought the Sarget half in 1919, reunited the estate in 1935 by purchasing the Faure half. Ownership by the Cordiers, along with the association with other esteemed wines like Talbot and Meyney, maintained Château Gruaud Larose as a favorite among Bordeaux enthusiasts. Now owned by the Taillan Group, the estate has 82 hectares of vineyards, planted with 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot, and 2% Malbec. A second wine, Sarget de Gruaud-Larose, was introduced in 1979. Known for producing fuller-bodied wines, Gruaud-Larose is consistently good, and while Leoville Las Cases holds the crown of "best estate in St Julien," the wines of Gruaud-Larose are always worth following.

This is very good Bordeaux at an agreeable price.

The wine

Château Gruaud-Larose Grand Vin 2010 is a distinguished wine from the Saint-Julien appellation, renowned for its rich history and exceptional quality. The 2010 vintage is celebrated for its complexity and depth, benefiting from the estate's 82 hectares of vineyards, which include 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot, and 2% Malbec. This vintage showcases the fuller-bodied style characteristic of Gruaud-Larose, offering a harmonious blend of dark fruit, spice, and earthy minerality, supported by fine tannins and a long finish. The estate, established in the early 18th century and reunited under the Cordier family's ownership in 1935, continues to be a favorite among Bordeaux aficionados. Now owned by the Taillan Group, Château Gruaud-Larose maintains its reputation for producing consistently excellent wines, with the 2010 vintage being a prime example of its winemaking prowess.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.