Chateau Gruaud Larose

Four families, three centuries

Gruaud Larose was founded in 1725. Since then, the Gruaud and Larose families, followed by the Balguerie and Sarget families, then the Cordier family, and finally the current Merlaut family, a total of four families have managed this estate.

The founding story, commonly told in Saint-Julien, recounts how three members of the Gruaud family, a knight, a judge, and a priest, combined their respective vineyards to create a single estate called Fond Bedeau. To maintain balance among the brothers, the wine was released under two labels: Chevalier de Gruaud for the priest and Abbé Gruaud for the judge. Parts of this story are merely legends that have been repeated throughout Bordeaux literature over the past two centuries, and the details vary depending on who is telling the story.

With the introduction of the Grand Cru classification in 1855, Gruaud Larose was rated as a Second Growth of Médoc. That classification has remained unchanged ever since.

What has changed is the wine itself. Gruaud Larose has experienced both periods of prosperity and periods of relative stagnation; the vineyard's recent performance has generally been on the rise since the mid-1990s, with another significant leap forward around the late 2000s. 

The chateau openly states that, much like its owners, its staff often come from the same family, with positions passing from parent to child.

The vineyards

Located in Saint-Julien-Beychevelle, this vineyard spans 84 hectares and is planted on gravelly soil.

The winery uses the term agroecology to describe its land management approach, which means it draws on principles of ecology just as much as it does on traditional agriculture. In fact, this has a greater influence on decision-making regarding vineyard management than it does on marketing.

Gruaud Larose also speaks candidly about the human side of this work. As they explain, vineyard work is solitary, arduous, and full of responsibility, and it is of the utmost importance to work as hard as possible as a neglected terroir is otherwise nothing more than a field where grapevines grow.

The terroir

The Médoc area has the highest concentration of classified properties within Bordeaux, and Gruaud Larose explains this by linking it to the terroir. Gravelly soil retains very little moisture.

The hot, dry stretch from July to September prevents grapevines from relying on moist subsoil for growth, thereby promoting proper ripening of the grapes.

Wind is also a key factor. East and west winds blow across the vineyards, drying the grape clusters and preventing rot later in the season.

The rest is all up to the weather. Gruaud Larose explains this clearly: every year, the heavens hold the deciding power, and no terroir, no one, and no technique can overturn that.

The grape varieties

Five varieties are planted in Gruaud Larose in the following proportions:

• Cabernet Sauvignon, 57 percent, the main variety
• Merlot, 30 percent
• Cabernet Franc, 8 percent
• Petit Verdot, 3 percent
• Malbec, the remaining 2 percent

Interestingly, Malbec and Petit Verdot are varieties that have survived here. Although both were removed from numerous Médoc vineyards over the past century, small quantities of each have been preserved at Gruaud Larose. 

This wine is a Left Bank blend centered around a single grape variety, with Merlot filling in the middle.

The winemaking

Starting with the 2009 harvest, Gruaud Larose switched from a bladder press to a vertical press. While this may sound like a term related to plumbing, it marked a shift in the winery's approach to utilizing press wine, specifically, the juice extracted under pressure after the free-run wine has been drawn off, which has a deeper color and firmer texture.

The reasoning behind this decision is simple. Since grapes are harvested in a riper state these days than in the past, press wine can add structure to the wine rather than harshness, and blending in more of it brings the wine closer to the vineyard's inherent character. Gruaud Larose views press wine not as an element to be minimized, but as the driving force behind the blend.

Oenologist Eric Boisseneau joined the technical team in 2007.

Aging takes place in the historic wine cellars beneath the estate, a space that features in tours of the château.

The grand vin, and what sits beside it

Château Gruaud Larose, the grand vin, is this winery's most famous wine.

The second wine is Sarget de Gruaud Larose, introduced with the 1981 vintage and named after Baron Jean Auguste Sarget. It is softer, more Merlot-led and ready earlier.

The best vintages of Gruaud Larose

The most outstanding vintages of Gruaud Larose are, amongst others: 1870, 1928, 1949, 1961, 1966, 1982, 1986, 2000, 2009, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023.