Saint-Julien - Château Gruaud Larose 1996 - Magnum

The domain

Château Gruaud Larose is a wine estate in the Saint-Julien appellation in the Médoc, ranked second growth in the Bordeaux classification of 1855. It is widely considered a classic Saint-Julien wine, and is known for its reasonable price. Most wines need 10 to 15 years to be fully appreciated.

The vineyard is located southwest of the village of Beychevelle, on gravel banks sloping towards the Marais de Beychevelle, a marshland that separates Saint-Julien from the vineyards of the central Médoc. The soil is a mixture of gravel, pebbles, sand, clay and humus on a subsoil of various clays, sand and pebbles. A total of 82 hectares are planted - 60% of the vines are Cabernet Sauvignon, with 30% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. The proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon has increased over the past decades and is expected to increase to around 70% in the coming years. In the cellar, the grapes are fermented in large wooden vats before being aged in barrels for 18 months.

The property was formed from three estates merged in 1757 by Joseph Gruaud. He left the property to a Monsieur de Larose in 1771. From 1865 the property was divided into several estates following an inheritance, but it was reunited in 1935. It was purchased by the current owners , the Merlaut family, in 1997. Their Taillan Group owns many other properties in Bordeaux, including Haut-Bages Libéral in Pauillac, Chasse-Spleen in Moulis, and a share in Osoyoos Larose in Canada.

Format : 150 cl		Country: France
Region: Bordeaux		Cultivation: Conventional Agriculture
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot		Tasting: -
Contractual photo on request