By Chateau Gruaud Larose
Saint-Julien 2021

Vineyard Details
Area Under Vine: 82 ha (203 acres)
Soil: Garonne gravel from the first quaternary, settled more than 600,000 years ago
Average Density: 8,500-10,000 vines per hectare
Vinestocks: 3,309, 101-14 Riparia
Average Vine Age: 45 years
Harvest: Double sorting and weighing of the crop
Harvest Dates: Merlot from 9/23-9/30, Cabernet Sauvignon from 9/28-10/07, Cabernet Franc from 9/29-10/01, Petit Verdot from 10/01-10/07

Vineyard Management
Integrated pest control (mechanical work), weather station (phytosanitary protection), prophylaxis (thinning out the leaves, removal of excess buds and shoots, green harvest), heightening of the trellis, and manual harvesting. Selection on a belt in the vineyard and double sorting at harvest reception.

Vintage Details
The mild, rainy winter awakened the vines with early ripening. A few plots of Merlot in the lowest part of the estate's hilltops were impacted by the frost during April. The spring was not sunny but rainy until the end of May. This imposed a slow pace of growth. At the beginning of June, the return of sunlight and a sudden temperature spike ensured smooth flowering on almost the entire estate. Some Merlots, the most sensitive ones, were affected by "coulure." Mid-June, from fruit set, a capricious weather forecast punctuated by rainy episodes took place until the end of "veraison" at the beginning of August. In summer, four weeks of magical weather allowed the grapes to catch up on their delayed ripeness. The plots only reached the right ripeness in the last week of September. At the beginning of October, Cabernet Sauvignon grapes finally expressed their full potential, and the freshness and tension remind us of historical great vintages.

Production
Plot selection in tank. Alcoholic fermentation in 100% thermo-regulated wood with added yeasts. Temperature control at 24-26 degrees C, daily tasting of each tank. Maceration for 20-30 days at controlled temperatures. Lees and pomace stirring during maceration after fermentation. Three vertical presses, immediate transfer of the press wine into barrels, tasting, and selection of the three press wines. Malolactic fermentation was co-inoculated with alcoholic fermentation. Aging for 18 months in French, fine-grain oak barrels (95% new, remainder 1-2 years old).

Technical Details
Final Blend: 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc
Total Acidity: 3.35
[Information provided by Beyerman]

Wine: Chateau Gruaud-Larose, St-Julien, 2eme Cru Classe, 2021
Score/Rating: 95
Suggested Drinking Window: 2026 - 2045
Review Date: 11/29/2023
Reviewed By: Georgina Hindle
Tasting Notes: Scented nose full of cedar, coffee, chocolate, liquorice, blackcurrant and floral fragrance. Light and lean, but full of flavour, the fruit dances across the palate while the relatively tight but fine tannins give structure. Great acidity and lovely elements of sour cherries, fresh-picked blackcurrants and crushed strawberries with an underlying mineral, slightly salty tang. Delicious.

Wine: 2021 Gruaud Larose
Score/Rating: 94
Suggested Drinking Window: 2025 - 2045
Review Date: 02/08/2024
Reviewed By: William Kelley
Tasting Notes: The 2021 Gruaud Larose has turned out very nicely in bottle, unfurling in the glass with aromas of sweet wild berries, plums, violets and cigar wrapper. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and velvety, it's polished and seamless, with good depth at the core, supple tannins and lively acids.

Wine: 2021 Gruaud Larose
Score/Rating: 94
Suggested Drinking Window: 2025 - 2036
Review Date: 01/09/2024
Reviewed By: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Tasting Notes: The 2021 Gruaud Larose is composed of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, it springs from the glass with vibrant notes of kirsch, juicy raspberries, and fresh blackcurrants giving way to underlying scents of violets, licorice, and wild sage plus a touch of pencil lead. The light to medium-bodied palate delivers lovely harmony, with impressively sustained mid-palate fruit and lots of mineral and earth accents framed by fine-grained tannins, finishing with great purity.

Wine: 2021 Gruaud Larose
Score/Rating: 94
Suggested Drinking Window: 2029 - 2046
Review Date: 12/2023
Reviewed By: Antonio Galloni
Tasting Notes: The 2021 Gruaud Larose is a wine of pure breeding and stature. Sepia-toned fruit, spice, new leather, licorice, gravel, dried herbs, pencil shavings and incense are beautifully amplified. Pliant and expansive in the glass, with terrific energy, the 2021 exudes class. Polished, supple tannins wrap it all together, before a final burst of vibrant acidity extends the finish.

Wine: 2021 Chateau Gruaud Larose (St. Julien)
Score/Rating: 93
Suggested Drinking Window: 2027 - 2055
Review Date: 03/09/2024
Tasting Notes: Classically styled, firm, bright, crisp and almost racy, the bright, red currants, blackberries and cherries shoe up discreetly with their savory, peppery edge intact. The finish is crunchy, chewy, and firm, with a chalky accent to the backend of the minty, leafy finish. The wine blends 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2027-2055.

Wine: 2021 Chateau Gruaud Larose
Score/Rating: 91
Suggested Drinking Window: 2026 - 2038
Review Date: 04/03/2024
Reviewed By: Jeb Dunnuck  
Tasting Notes: The 2021 Chateau Gruaud Larose checks in as 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc that spent 18 months in 95% new French oak. It's concentrated and medium-bodied, with a relatively closed, inward style in its black cherry and redcurrant fruit as well as subtle tobacco and graphite-laced aromas and flavors. I love its overall balance, as well as its mid-palate depth and polished tannins. It needs just 2-4 years in the cellar and is going to drink beautifully over the following decade or more.

Wine: Ch Gruaud Larose 2021 St-Julien
Score/Rating: 16/20
Suggested Drinking Window: 2029 - 2039
Review Date: 02/12/2025
Reviewed By: Jancis Robinson
Tasting Notes: Tasted blind. Light nose. Dry and streamlined. Not a very strong message in this wine. Correct and unobjectionable, if you like your claret on the dry side. But not long, with a rather messy finish. [...]