Wine Advisor
Sarget De Gruaud Larose 2020
Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2020 Sarget de Gruaud Larose is the best vintage when compared directly with 2018 and 2019. This has more freshness and tension on the nose, understated in some ways, delicate tobacco-tinged black fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, fine depth, nicely focused with a cleaner finish than the previous years. This will do nicely. Drink over the next decade.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2020 Sarget de Gruaud has a quite a high-toned, floral bouquet with violet and blueberry aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with plush tannins, fine acidity and just slight peppery notes towards the finish but with very commendable length for a Deuxième Vin. Very fine.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2020 Sarget de Gruaud Larose initially has an attractive bouquet with cassis and touches of violet. It's slightly herbal in style, and this becomes more pronounced with aeration, fraying at the seams. The palate is medium-bodied with decent concentration on the entry and fine backbone, if just missing a little focus on the finish. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.
About the Producer
Gruaud Larose has always tried to give value to the role of man in the creation of its elixir; both to his work and to the bond established with the vineyard. The vine stocks and the grapes are nothing without man, without these makers of Crus, from the most modest to the most powerful. Since its creation, in 1725, four families have succeeded one another at the head of Gruaud Larose: the Gruaud & Larose families, the Balguerie and Sarget families, the Cordier family and the Merlaut family. This family attachment has been passed on to the employees who often work at the Château from father to son and from mother to daughter. The notion of terroir binds geology and climate together. The largest concentration of Grand Cru Wines is in the Medoc, an area which benefits from a microclimate that is particularly favorable for the expression of the vine. The soil, by nature, limits water retentivity, and the summer period, very hot and dry from July to September, is a determinant for good ripening, a good maturity, and the satisfactory transfer between the root system and the grape. East and West winds dry the grapes to keep them from perishing. Every year the heavens play a decisive role in winemaking. Their influence on the success of the wine is different each year; no terroir, man, or technique can alter the part they play.
