Chateau Gruaud Larose 2eme Cru Classe, Saint-Julien 2009

A beautiful example of the estate and the vintage, you can dive right in to the depth of cassis and bilberry fruits, studded with tobacco leaf, charcoal, crushed rocks, cocoa powder and juicy raspberries. Delivers appellation typicity and then some, stretches out through the palate, excellent quality. It's not the power so much as the perfect placing, everything working together to deliver a delicious drinking claret - and it's one where I would recommend the 2009 over the 2010, at least for the next decade. Eric Boissenot consultant, 50% new oak.

I like the aromas of sliced mushroom, berries and wet earth, that follow through to a full body, with super silky tannins and a chewy finish. A fit, yet polished wine here. Try after 2020.

The 2009 Gruaud Larose is blended of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon and 32% Merlot. Medium to deep garnet colored, it charges forth with warm black raspberries, crème de cassis and redcurrant jelly notes with touches of potpourri, cigar box, new leather, hoisin and molten chocolate. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with black fruits and savory layers with a firm, grainy texture and seamless freshness lifting the long earth-laced finish.

As I wrote in my barrel tasting note, the 2009 appears to be the finest Gruaud Larose since their 1990. Some of my concerns about too much brett in previous vintages are long gone as the purity of the 2009 jumps out. Copious notes of sagebrush, cedar, cigar box, licorice, incense, blackberries and lead pencil shavings suggest a big Pauillac rather than a St.-Julien.

Broad, rich and full-bodied with good balance and abundant, but sweet, well-integrated tannin, this big, masculine Gruaud Larose reveals remarkable finesse, richness, extract, density and a cascade of fruit that nearly hides the lofty tannins.

The 2009 Gruaud Larose has calmed down since I last tasted it (when I described the bouquet as raucous). Now it is quite refined with blackberry, cedar and leather aromas, not the most powerful you will come across but very well focused. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, a fine bead of acidity, not a million miles away from Lagrange in style. Great precision on the brown spice infused finish. Excellent. Tasted at BI Wines & Spirits' Ten Year On tasting.

Dark ruby-red. Intense aromas of red cherry, cassis, aromatic herbs and cedar. Rich, dense and suave, with concentrated flavors of dark berries, cedar and quinine complicated by smoky and peppery nuances. Finishes very long and smooth, with a highly tactile quality to the cedar and cassis flavors. This Gruaud stands out for its purity, as it seems free of the earthy and gamey nuances that have been present in many past vintages. In fact, this impressive wine strikes me as the best young Gruaud-Larose in recent memory.

(a blend of 65% cabernet sauvignon and 35% merlot; 13.35% alcohol; pH 3.85; 76 IPT; 40% selection) Deep ruby. A very classic nose of cassis, cedar and smoky graphite is devoid of animal and earthy scents and conveys a sense of refinement rare for this wine. Then very smooth in the mouth, with excellent palate presence and sneaky concentration to its sweet, ripe black fruit and smoky peppery flavors. Lively, harmonious acidity leaves an impression of freshness on the long, dense finish, which features a touch of dried herbs and oaky torrefaction along with a trace of heat. As ripe and spicy as this is, it's an unusually graceful Gruaud Larose, one of this estate's most successful wines in memory. Call me fixated, but I can't help but think that making the grand vin from just 40% of the total crop has everything to do with the quality of this wine. It cannot be a coincidence that almost all of the best wines in '09 have this in common.