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1986 Gruaud Larose, St-Julien (lightly scuffed & nicked label)

1986 Gruaud Larose, St-Julien (lightly scuffed & nicked label)

97JA
95DC
95RP
95VN
92JG

97

Jane Anson

Review Date: 05/2019
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Both vintages of Gruaud-Larose absolutely stand out in this lineup, and I recommend them both for thoroughly enjoyable drinking today. This was pretty monolithic when young and evolved very slowly. It's still showing tons of black fruits with tobacco, coffee and truffle. Chewy tannins are still evident, with everything clearly signposting a great vintage from legendary winemaker Georges Pauli. 3% Petit Verdot completes the blend. (for Decanter)

Price: $279.99
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Professional Reviews

95

Decanter

Review Date: 02/2023
I've always loved this wine. In the past I have found it combines the beautiful opulence of old Gruaud-Larose with the structure of the vintage. Most recently a bottle in February 2023 was loaded with sweet red cherry notes and rose petals. Surprisingly delicate. Not as structured as many ‘86s. Fine powdery tannin. Lovely freshness that opened beautifully in the glass. There is a touch of grip on the finish that would lend well to robust dishes but that is more than to be expected from the vintage. A great Gruaud. (GB)

95

Wine Advocate

Review Date: 08/2022
Still remarkably youthful, my most recent bottle of the 1986 Gruaud Larose exhibited an impressively opaque hue, followed by aromas of blackcurrants, cigar ash, loamy soil, pencil shavings and subtle hints of smoked meats. Full-bodied, deep and concentrated, it's a rich but tightly wound wine, with a deep core of fruit, lively acids and an abundance of powdery structuring tannin. Incredible as it may seem, it's comparatively advanced bottles of this 1986 that are drinking best today, as pristinely stored examples with perfect corks are still almost painfully youthful. (WK)

95

Vinous

Review Date: 04/2013
Very youthful deep ruby-red color. Brooding nose offers perfumed blackcurrant, mineral, violet and quinine aromas. Big, dense and rich, conveying an impression of strong extract to the powerful, well-delineated blackberry and herb flavors. The long, tactile finish features chewy but polished tannins and a lingering floral note. Though ready to drink now, this wine will continue to age gracefully. One of the best Gruaud-Larose wines of the past 40 years. (ID)
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Notes

96 points Parker: "Still tasting as if it were only 7-8 years of age, the dense, garnet/purple-colored 1986 Gruaud-Larose is evolving at a glacier pace. The wine still has mammoth structure, tremendous reserves of fruit and concentration, and a finish that lasts close to a minute. The wine is massive, very impressively constituted, with still some mouth-searing tannin to shed. Decanting of one to two hours in advance seems to soften it a bit, but this is a wine that seems to be almost immortal in terms of its longevity. It is a great Medoc classic, and certainly one of the most magnificent Gruaud-Larose ever made." (01/03)

Product Details

Origin: Saint Julien, Bordeaux, France

Type/Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon and Blends

SKU: #1076469

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