Château Gruaud-Larose

The château

Father Gruaud founded the estate in 1725 and left it to his nephew, the Chevalier de Larose, and the 2 halves of the name have stayed together ever since, even when the estate did not. The trade placed it early. William Franck, whose Traité sur les vins du Médoc first appeared in 1824, listed “Gruau ou la Rose” among the second growths that year, at 2,000 to 2,100 francs the tonneau (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels), 31 years before the brokers agreed; the 1832 edition of André Jullien’s Topographie de tous les vignobles connus ranked it second again, as “Larose-Balguerie”, making 120 to 150 tonneaux. That second name tells of a sale: in 1814 the estate went for 350,000 francs to Balguerie, Sarget et Compagnie, and Sarget is the name the second wine carries today.

By 1853 the growth was divided among Messieurs Bethmann, Boisgérard and the heirs of the Baron Sarget, and in 1855 the brokers wrote it on 1 line, with its 3 proprietors braced beside it. The partition was made formal in 1867, into Gruaud-Larose-Faure and Gruaud-Larose-Sarget, and it took until 1935 for the house of Cordier to put the 2 back together; Cordier kept the estate until 1983. The Merlaut family took over in 1997 and gave Cabernet Sauvignon back its place in the vineyard. Jean Merlaut is the owner, Nicolas Sinoquet chief executive and Virginie Sallette technical director.

The vineyard is 82 hectares in a single block, on a rise of Garonne gravel laid down more than 600,000 years ago, within the same boundaries it had when it was classified in 1855: 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. About 120,000 bottles are made a year, after 18 months in oak, 95% of it new. The conversion to organic farming began in 2019, and the estate has been certified since August 2022, with the 2022 vintage. Sarget de Gruaud Larose is the second wine. This is a wine for the long haul: the 1978, which I tasted in April 2024, was at its peak, earth, mushrooms, spices and chocolate, with soft tannins, an acidity still lively and a long finish.

At a glance

Appellation

Saint-Julien

Classification

Deuxième Cru Classé 1855

Owner

Jean Merlaut; the Merlaut family and the Taillan Group since 1997

Direction

Nicolas Sinoquet, chief executive; Virginie Sallette, technical director

Vineyard

82 hectares in a single block, within the boundaries of 1855

Soil

Garonne gravel laid down more than 600,000 years ago Terroir of Saint-Julien →

Grapes

Cabernet Sauvignon 64%, Merlot 30%, Cabernet Franc 4%, Petit Verdot 2%

Farming

Organic; conversion from 2019, certified with the 2022 vintage

Cellar

18 months in oak, 95% new

Production

About 120,000 bottles a year

Wines

Château Gruaud Larose; Sarget de Gruaud Larose

In history

A second growth in 1824; sold for 350,000 francs in 1814; divided in 1867, reunited in 1935