There is a subtlety to this that strikes you immediately - gentle smoke, cold ash, tobacco, white truffle, brambled blackberry fruits, mint leaf, totally sublime, my favourite of the line up so far. It plays to the strengths of St Julien, and plays with nuanced light-and-shade in a way that the 2000 does not at this point. This is a high score for Gruaud Larose, and reflects the heights that this vintage is reaching right now - tracking how long it stays at this level is part of the beauty of wine. I tasted two versions, one decanted and one not - the smokey side is more evident in the carafe, but I preferred allowing it to open more slowly in the glass. Harvest September 21 to October 4, 35% new oak. Drink 2021 - 2044
Tasted Nov 2021 - Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux

A dense and decadent wine with chocolate, currant and licorice aromas and flavors. Medium to full body, firm tannins and a fresh finish. A beautiful wine now. It shows the finesse and class of an aged Bordeaux. Oct 2016

(a blend of 60% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot, 7% cabernet franc and 3% petit verdot): Ruby with a pale rim. Rich, ripe nose offers red cherry, plum, spice, mineral and violet aromas. Dense, chewy and fresh, with precise, intense red and black fruit flavors complicated by a hint of licorice. Features a persistent saline note on the rich, long, slightly chunky finish. A very successful Gruaud.

Surprisingly accessible as well as supple, this 2001 St.-Julien reveals a deep plum/purple color along with a rich bouquet of smoke, roasted vegetables, black currants, plums, licorice, and Asian spices. Velvety-textured and medium-bodied, with loads of fruit, and a plump, expansive, plush texture, this is an atypically forward Gruaud Larose to drink now and over the next 12-14 years.

Medium bright ruby. Exotic spicy black fruits, espresso and chocolate on the nose. Sweet, supple and complex, with hints of minerals, leather and game. Showing an inner-mouth aromatic quality and floral component I don't yet find in the young 2002. Finishes with firm but nicely buffered tannins and very good length. I underrated this wine last spring.

Like many 2001 Bordeaux wines, this is on the evolutionary fast track. Tobacco leaf, smoke, creme de cassis, mushroom and spice box aromas work well with the medium/full bodied, gentle textures. Lacking the depth and concentration of the better vintages, this Gruaud Larose is already drinking well. Tasted Dec 2011

Tasted at the chateau at their “-1”vertical, a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. The 2001 Gruaud Larose has a very attractive, quite fleshy bouquet with ebullient crushed raspberries, mulberry, allspice and a touch of cumin. Good definition and vigour. The palate is medium-bodied with quite thick, chewy tannins that perhaps lack the finesse that more recent vintages have demonstrated. Very good weight, a little grittiness coming towards the finish with notes of tar and cedar beginning to usurp the primary fruit. This 2001 (like many in its alumni) is in its transitional stage. Very fine. Tasted April 2011.

60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot. Pale brick hue. More complexity and presence than the 2000. Forest-floor notes with a hint of cedar and spice. Still upright and structured, the fruit holding. Acidity a little intrusive but maintains freshness. (JL)