TECHNICAL INFO

Varietal/Blend:  69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc

ABV:  13.2%

Vineyard:  The 82 ha estate sits on Garonne gravel terraces from the First Quaternary, over 600,000 years old, with deep, well-drained soils and scattered lydian, quartzite, and chalcedony stones. Vines average 46 years, planted at 8,500–10,000/ha, fully estate-grown and farmed organically and biodynamically, with manual harvesting, leaf-thinning, green harvests, trellis heightening, and double sorting at reception.

Cellar: Grapes are vinified parcel by parcel in 50% wood and 50% cement thermo-regulated tanks, with fermentation at 24–26 °C. Maceration lasts 20–30 days, with daily tastings and regular work on the lees, while malolactic fermentation runs alongside alcoholic fermentation. Press wine goes straight into fine-grain French oak barrels (80% new), and the parcels are blended before bottling. The wine then ages 18–24 months in barrel, with additional bottle maturation before release.

CSPC:  129524

Winemakers Note: Château Gruaud Larose on 2016 vintage:
Winter 2015-16 will go down in history as very mild and rainy, followed by
an early bud break that was rapidly mitigated by a cool and humid spring.
Strong fungal disease pressure was expected in the vineyard. The
weather in the second week of June enabled optimal flowering, but was
again followed by heavy rainfall. Fortunately, good weather arrived by the
end of June, along with the temperature. It lasted all summer, allowing for
perfect development of the grapes, which, thanks to water supplies in the
soil, didn't suffer from the drought, apart from the very end of the season.
High water stress in the vineyard in early September blocked the ripening
process, but a big rainstorm (45 mm of rain) on September 13th relaunched the evolution in the vineyard. The dry and warm weather lasted until the end of harvest, thus auguring an exceptional vintage, both in terms of quality and quantity.

What the Critics are saying: 

TECHNICAL INFO

Country:  France

Region:  Saint-Julien, Bordeaux

Appellation:  Saint-Julien AOC

Climate: 

Altitude: 

Soils: 

Varietal/Blend:  69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc

Fermentation:  Spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts in old oak puncheons.

Ageing: 

Vineyard & Vine Age:  Bull Swamp and Manilla vineyards in Baw Baw Shire. The vines were planted in 1961 and and 1964 respectively.

ABV:  13.2%

Produced Cases:  50

CSPC:  129524