2011 Château Gruaud Larose Sarget de Gruaud Larose

Community Tasting Notes (2) Avg Score: 90.7 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Cognacblanc's profile
  • Report Issue

  12/18/2017 - Cognacblanc Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Deep leather, soft tannins

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View ChinaBounder's profile
  • Report Issue

  3/19/2016 - ChinaBounder Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Lovely – this really was a nice wine. Fabulous nose which spread out of the decanter and filled the room. The taste lived up to the smell, too – plenty of proper Bordeaux notes there, full of quality. Thoroughly pleasing on the palate. Not very long, true, but lays lightly on the palate so that every sip is charming.
  
  Berry Bros (from whom I had this bottle) say "Vibrant, red and black fruit with a really charming creaminess that makes it extremely quaffable." That's fair and accurate - though I'd add that while it was indeed 'quaffable' that is not to suggest it is in any way slight, since it has great poise and pedigree.
  
  Any Bdx fan will know that 2011 is a little-regarded year. It does not deserve such neglect. I’ve also been drinking 2011 Labegorce recently and it is excellent.
  
  I was interested to see that Andrew Jefford, in his ‘Jefford on Monday’ column for Decanter (Feb 29th 2016) wrote that:
  
  ‘The best 2011s are classic, generously constructed, well-built and enduring wines of true gastronomic potential …. which I believe will prove popular with the legions of experienced red Bordeaux lovers who still throng the world’s fine-wine market, provided they give them at least a decade..’
  
  I think Jefford is exactly right here. But the upside of this disdain for the 2011s is that prices are pretty fair (within the context of Bdx)– for example the other week I got a 6-case of 2011 Pontet-Cantet for £235 – that’s a steep drop on its en primeur release price of £360.
  
  Anyhow; this Sarget was wonderful. It was an Imperial (600 cl) opened & decanted about 7 hours in advance and drunk with family and friends and a hunk of rib of beef; everyone agreed the wine was excellent, and a very harmonious partner for the beef. It’s wholly, deliciously drinkable now but clearly has the potential for at least a decade in the cellar. That’s really quite impressive for a 2nd wine of a 2nd growth in a difficult year.
  
  I will certainly be buying more 2011s – I can’t see their prices dropping much lower and I’d suspect to see a rise over the next few years.

  3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.