Community Tasting Notes 272

• Cailles wrote: 92 points

  April 24, 2022 - 48x 1990 (37x Bdx, 6x Napa, 5x others): This is a good vintage for Gruaud but not on the same level as the truly great vintages of 2000 and of course especially the legendary 1982. More depth to complement the great fruit and fine structure and this could have been a true winner. Nevertheless, still a wine I would be happy to drink every day.
  
  TN: Not overly expressive nose with some dark fruits, minerality showing but not much more. On the palate it has a beautiful sweetness, ripe dark red and dark berries, some herbs and minerality and just hints of leather and tobacco. Overall quite short and not very deep but still pleasurable. Finely melted tannins, good freshness, nicely creamy texture. Good but not great.
  
  Decanting: Quick double decant two+ hours prior to the tasting to remove sediment. Quite open, doesn‘t need an extensive decanting.

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• Richard.schmit Likes this wine: 94 points

  March 5, 2022 - Great nose. Old Claret style. Cherry on paLette. Medium to light body. Long finish

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• tobyc Likes this wine: 92 points

  January 22, 2022 - Deep garnet going towards tawny. Very tertiary nose, deep leathery kirch w. barnyard, roses and oriental spices. Retained acidity w. cherry stones, rose petals, mushrooms, sweet liquorice, wet stones and pencil lead. Probably a bit over the top, but still w. refreshingly alive and great length.
  
  Drink.

  Comment

• talbot61 Likes this wine: 94 points

  January 1, 2022 - Is it enough to say that this tastes like old claret? My sense is that Gruaud-Larose can be very tough in its youth and that it takes a long time to come around. The 1990 has come around. Powerful aromas of leather and boysenberry, structure from acidity not tannins, intensity of flavor in a medium-bodied wine, and a slight aftertaste of menthol. Dry and very refined. On a par with the 1994 Cos d'Estournel we drank the previous week, and more pleasurable than bottles of 1995 Chateau Latour (too young) and 1990 Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou (too old).

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• Mimesis Likes this wine: 92 points

  December 24, 2021 - What all Bordeaux wants to be when it grows up. Fully mature, with all the rough edges polished to a light sheen: some bricking, yet plenty of remaining color. Flavor first seemed faded, but opened over the next hour to a warm, sustained glow.
  
  The style is balanced - neither showy nor austere. I admit that I've added a couple of points in homage to this wine's perseverance. It's a rare pleasure to drink a thoroughly aged claret in good condition. If you have any, I wouldn't wait. Like a fine sunset, I doubt it will last much longer.

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Pro Reviews 8

Wine Definition

• Vintage 1990
• Type Red
• Producer Château Gruaud Larose
• Varietal Red Bordeaux Blend
• Designation n/a
• Vineyard n/a
• Country France
• Region Bordeaux
• SubRegion Médoc
• Appellation St. Julien
• UPC Codes 087000307650, 087000309852

Community Holdings

• Pending Delivery 34 (1%)
• In Cellars 3,410 (62%)
• Consumed 2,029 (37%)

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