Chateau Gruard Larose 1983: Supreme elegance

Perfect claret

 In a small wine shop hidden away in the UK countryside, I found a few bottles of Chateau Gruard Larose 1983 in their cellar.

For some reason the purchase price was less than £50 a bottle.

Having opened, decanted and drunk a bottle on Saturday with the good lady, I can tell you it's a genuine gem.

I wasn't sure if I should decant it, and found tasting it upon opening left me none the wiser.

In the end I did, using an aerator (overkill I think).

It must have changed four or five times in the glass over a few hours.

Upon first taste, I picked up a little acid, and some cedar notes, perhaps some tobacco, within this wonderfully balanced wine.

It tasted to me like a first or second growth mature aged claret should, with those classic St Julien notes. The finish was about ninety seconds.

After just a few minutes, it turned much much sharper and acid.

At that point I began to feel I had screwed up quite badly, and had ruined the wine.

Luckily, after another fifteen minutes or so it changed again, softening and began opening up with floral aromas, becoming almost quite a light and elegant wine.

Then it changed again, the aged nuances came back and all the best elements combined and the balance came through.

I've not experienced anything quite like all that before. But perhaps I was not paying sufficient attention.

After three hours in the decanter it was in its prime, and didn't then last long.

The nose came back out, the age was present but with plenty of fruit and the finish was shorter but sublime.

I don't normally write this many notes but given the experience, why not.

The wine scores about 92/100 from many critics. More on it and where to get some is here.

I will be treasuring my last two bottles of this, and likely buying more when I can.

Sarget De Gruaud-Larose 2004, solid St Julien

In a blind test you'd say it might be Pessac

Saint-Julien is one of my favourite communes in Bordeaux.

I'm not really a right bank man. I've tasted a few, even some of the greats, and compared to the Medoc wines, particularly Saint-Julien, Saint-Estephe, Pessac and Pauillac they leave me cold.

That's not a popular view with some real wine buff friends of mine.

The exception so far was the 1983 Petrus. Oh my, now that's a wine. I doubt I'll taste it again but I'll take the memory to the grave.

Anyhow, here's another cracking Saint-Julien, Sarget De Gruaud-Larose 2004. It's the second wine of Gruaud-Larose.

I reviewed (kind of) the 1998 main wine here.

It's a great value entry-level Saint-Julien at something like £25 a bottle.

Mine came from Carrefour in Bordeaux. It's more peppery than others I have tried from the commune. A nice mineral edge. Well worth sampling. I'm thinking lamb chops would work with it.

Beychevelle 1981, excellent value aged Saint-Julien

Not rated by critics, but that's their loss

A common refrain among those who know wine, or at least, know a lot more than I do, is "buy the years next to the 'great' years if you want exceptional value".

The philosophy is that the great years (say 1982, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005 etc) are often over priced.

Pick the right Chateau the year before or after, for example, and you could discover a real gem.

I heard this again recently in Bordeaux from someone whose family have been in the wine industry for more than half a century and own a first growth Chateau.

And so it was with the Beychevelle 1981, pictured left.

It's not rated by the critics. Wine Spectator gave it an 81, Robert Parker an 83. I'd give it an 89 personally.

It's not easy to find great 1981 vintages, from what I understand. On that basis, this is a gem as drinking it is a fairly rare experience not easily repeated.

This Beychevelle 1982 had lots of fruit left, a surprising amount I thought, and had clearly been well cared for in London's Planet of the Grapes wine store, and wherever else it has been. That's obviously so important for a 31 year old wine. It drank beautifully. Our host at Planet of the Grapes who tasted a glass with us, very much agreed that it was quite a special experience.

According to this site, there are some other good examples from Saint-Julien in that year for fans of aged value left bank Bordeaux.

Price-wise, it's about £50-60, which is outstanding value. More on stockists, here.

Chateau Gruaud Larose 1998: A fine full bodied Saint-Julien

I shared a bottle of Chateau Gruaud Larose 1998 with a friend over Christmas, as a bit of a treat given the price (Around £45). Here's a little bit more about it.

With a mix of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 6.5% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec it's a big bold Saint-Julien wine. Robert Parker give it an 88, which I'd say was about right.

For around that price (£40-50) I'd suggest that Chateau Meyney 1989 is more of a bargain, if you can call it that within this price range. That wine scores over 90 from Parker, and deservedly so.

But the Gruaud Larose is still a lovely wine. Big bold, deep red/purple colours, intense fruit and a hint of age give way to a lengthy, full and supple finish. It's very full-bodied for a Saint-Julien wine, which is one reason I loved it. Jancis Robinson calls it "crimson" coloured, which describes it perfectly.

The 2008 and 2009 wines seem to be doing very well in terms of Parker scores.

More on that here.

No doubt the 2010 has been massively over-priced and will come down in 2011. We will see.