Château Gruaud Larose 1986 is a red Saint-Julien from Château Gruaud Larose, one of five estates in the appellation classified as a Second Growth in 1855, from 1986, a year when Cabernet Sauvignon outperformed everything else on the Left Bank.
The year 1986 was characterized by extreme heat and drought from start to finish. Budbreak was late, and flowering was normal, but the summer was hot, sunny, and extremely dry. By September, the vines began to suffer from drought stress. Then it rained, followed by a massive storm that flooded some Bordeaux appellations and caused the Merlot grapes to swell as they were diluted by water.
The harvest began on September 23. For the next 23 days, the weather remained hot, sunny, and windy, ideal conditions for both the vines and the harvesters. The winemakers who willingly waited to allow the grapes to ripen further in Cabernet Sauvignon produced the best wines of this vintage. The harvest yield was also high, at least 15% greater than in 1985.
These conditions worked in favor of the Cabernet-based wines from the Médoc, with Pauillac and Saint-Julien standing out in particular. The 1986 Château Gruaud Larose is considered one of this winery's finest vintages. It is best enjoyed by 2045.
Robert Parker (95)
Still remarkably youthful, my most recent bottle of the 1986 Gruaud Larose exhibited an impressively opaque hue, followed by aromas of blackcurrants, cigar ash, loamy soil, pencil shavings and subtle hints of smoked meats. Full-bodied, deep and concentrated, it's a rich but tightly wound wine, with a deep core of fruit, lively acids and an abundance of powdery structuring tannin. Incredible as it may seem, it's comparatively advanced bottles of this 1986 that are drinking best today, as pristinely stored examples with perfect corks are still almost painfully youthful.
Winespectator (93)
Classic style, extremely rich and concentrated with layers of plum, cassis and spicy oak flavors that offer elegance and harmony on the palate and a l ong, full finish.
Jancis Robinson (16)
Full bottle just 1,282 g. I think this was a bottle that Stephen Fry brought to dinner in our old house, which dates it somewhat.
Still with a hint of crimson. A little bottle stink and rather dry on the end. Although there is some intensity of fruit the tannins were probably less ripe than in 1996. Perhaps it will open out a little in a decanter?
Rene Gabriel (19)
Rene Gabriel rates this wine 19/20 points.
BOW (9)
