Chateau Gruaud Larose 2016

- 94 Punkte Robert Parkers WINE ADVOCATE, Lisa Perrotti-Brown: "The 2016 Gruaud Larose is blended of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it leaps from the glass with notes of red and black cherries, warm plums and freshly crushed blackcurrants plus hints of violets, oolong tea, aniseed and tilled soil with a waft of garrigue. Medium-bodied, the palate struts tons of elegantly fragrant red and black fruit flavors with a firm backbone of ripe, grainy tannins and loads of freshness, finishing long and perfumed."

- 94 Punkte WINE ENTHUSIAST, Roger Voss: "This is a dense, smoky wine with powerful tannins. It follows the line of richness set since the 2014 vintage and balances rich black fruits and concentrated tannins cut with final acidity. Drink from 2025."

- WINESPECTATOR, James Molesworth: "This has a wide range of red currant, blackberry, black cherry and açaí berry fruit flavors forming the core, with a very sleek iron note lurking underneath it all. The finish uses a fine singed wood stitching to pull the fruit and minerality together. Lovely. Best from 2023 through 2038. 12,200 cases made."

- VINOUS, Neal Martin: "The 2016 Gruaud-Larose has quite a fruit-driven, generous bouquet of layers of black and red fruit laced with graphite and tertiary aromas. Is there just a slight touch of brettanomyces here? The medium-bodied palate is earthy and a little ferrous, with rounded tannin, and quite approachable compared to its peers. Slightly smudged toward the finish, but it shows great persistence. Very fine, very Gruaud."

- 94 Punkte FALSTAFF, Peter Moser: "Dunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, dezente Randaufhellung, zart floral unterlegte schwarze Kirschen, kandierte Veilchen, etwas Lakritze, Mandarinenzesten. Mittlere Komplexität, feine Pflaumenfrucht, integrierte Tannine, dezente Fruchtsüße im Abgang, ein Hauch von Nougat im Nachhall."

- 95 Punkte DECANTER, Jane Anson: "This is well built and powerful, not exactly subtle, but then none of these wines are. Instead you get complex, layered and concentrated inky fruits, with some aniseed too. The balance and elegance of St-Julien comes in through the tailored and fine tannins on the finish, but while these tannins may be fine, there are lots of them. 80% new oak. Drinking Window 2024 – 2040"

- JANCIS ROBINSON: "Tasted blind. Pure cassis fruit on the nose. Great polish and finesse with pure fruit masking the tannin. Very neat and well judged."

- 19 Punkte Rene Gabriels BORDEAUX TOTAL, Andre Kunz: "Kunz Fassprobe 17: Tiefgründiges, klassisches, kräftiges Bouquet, schwarze Beeren, Zedern, Pflaumen, Black Currant, Trüffel, dunkler Tabak. Konzentrierter, kraftvoller, vielschichtiger Gaumen mit dichter, muskulöser Struktur, samtener Frucht, sehr viel gutem Tannin, dichter, vielfältiger Aromatik, sehr langer, aromatischer Abgang mit dunkler Rückaromen."

- 94 Punkte JAMES SUCKLING: "So much sweet-tobacco and currant character with some earth on the nose. Full body, firm and chewy tannins and a long and flavorful finish. Closed and complex still, but a typically beautiful Bordeaux. Try after 2022."