Château Gruaud Larose 2015

Tasting Notes and Recommendations for Château Gruaud Larose 2015

Tasting

Appearance
This wine displays a magnificent ruby colour, at once brilliant, clear and deep.

Nose
The aromatic bouquet reveals great complexity. It exudes seductive notes of red and black fruits, such as cherry, raspberry and blackcurrant. With aeration, subtle touches of spice, cedar, graphite and tobacco enrich the whole, accompanied by delicate floral nuances.

Palate
The attack is direct, giving way to a wine with beautiful volume. The structure rests on powerful, fleshy tannins that nonetheless retain remarkable suppleness. The tasting ends on a lingering finish, marked by elegant notes of cocoa and spice.

Food and Wine Pairings
This great red wine will pair wonderfully with characterful red meats, such as roasted rack of lamb, a fine rib of beef or a pan-seared beef fillet. It will also elevate game dishes, such as venison or hare, as well as flavourful poultry like duck or pigeon. When it comes to cheese, favour pressed, cooked-curd varieties such as Comté or Beaufort.

Serving and Ageing
To fully appreciate the complexity of Château Gruaud Larose 2015, serving at room temperature between 16 and 18°C is ideal, taking care to decant it at least an hour before tasting. Built for very long ageing, this wine for extended cellaring can be kept and enjoyed until around 2040.

Other Characteristics
This vintage has an alcohol content of 13.15% vol. Its total acidity stands at 3.35, with a total polyphenol index (TPI) of 60 and an anthocyanin concentration measured at 506.

The Elegance and Power of a Grand Cru from Saint-Julien

The Estate
Founded in 1725 by Abbé Joseph Stanislas Gruaud, Château Gruaud Larose is a true institution in the Bordeaux region. Classified as a Second Growth in 1855, it spans a vast vineyard of 82 hectares in production. Now run by the Merlaut family, with Jean Merlaut at its helm, the estate perpetuates historic expertise while looking to the future through environmentally responsible practices. The fame of this prestigious brand rests on its celebrated motto, "The wine of kings, the king of wines," and on the exceptional consistency of its vintages.

The Vineyard
Located at the heart of the Saint-Julien appellation, the terroir stands out for its impressive homogeneity. The vines, averaging 46 years of age, thrive on Quaternary Garonne gravel soils laid down more than 600,000 years ago, resting on a clay-limestone base. Planting density ranges from 8,500 to 10,000 vines per hectare. The estate places great importance on sustainable viticulture, with mechanical soil work, organic fertilisation and rigorous manual operations such as leaf thinning, shoot thinning and green harvesting, all closely monitored by a weather station.

The Vintage
The year began with a fairly dry, cool winter, followed by an April within seasonal norms. Heavy rainfall occurred in early May but was quickly followed by mild conditions that allowed for a perfectly successful flowering. Summer was marked by a particularly hot, dry July, while August was cooler with some rain. September, sunny at first and then punctuated by rainfall around the 10th, allowed the vines to maintain perfect health right up to harvest.

Winemaking and Ageing
The hand-harvested grapes undergo careful sorting on a vibrating table in the vineyard, followed by a double sorting on arrival at the winery. For Château Gruaud Larose 2015, plot selection is carried out in temperature-controlled vats, split equally between wood and concrete. Alcoholic fermentation, maintained between 24 and 29°C, is accompanied by daily pumping-over and a maceration period of 20 to 30 days with lees stirring. Malolactic fermentation is carried out through co-inoculation. After gentle pressing using three vertical presses, the wine is transferred directly into barrels for ageing over 18 to 24 months in French oak barrels, 80% of which are new.

Grape Varieties
60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc