Château Gruaud Larose 2012

Dense and full-bodied, with freshness and breed, polished tannins: it shows class, elegance, harmony and refinement. A magnificent wine, one of the finest in recent years.

Inviting, with a fleshy core of plum, blackberry and anise notes, lined with graphite and warm fruitcake hints and supported by a juicy finish that keeps the toast in the background. Very solid and without the overtly austere feel of the vintage. Drink now through 2020. 13,333 cases made.

Fine Cabernet Sauvignon cassis nose, suave and velvety in the Gruaud style, already showing quite exotic fruit, but there is deep fruit and grip here, class and finesse along with the vigour.

A silky and fine red with blueberry, blackberry and floral character. Hints of hazelnuts. Full body, integrated tannins and a fresh finish. Persistent too. Better in 2017.

Savoury and dark with no leafy notes at all. Restrained on the nose. Grainy but ripe tannins, juicy within a firm structure. Still a baby, but everything is in harmony for a long life. (JH)

This did not develop as well as I had hoped. Medium-bodied, it shows some dryness in a red-fruit-dominated finish, with an herbal, olive note also discernible in the red-fruit-filled finish.

Classic dark fruit, some spicy notes, cedar and tobacco, rather full palate, classic firm backbone, crushed berries, cassis and tobacco notes, good length, still young and dense but with a nice classic structure for development.

66.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 6.5% Petit Verdot. Floral bouquet, black cherries, cedar, dark peppercorns and subtle smoky notes, noble with a fine Cabernet sweetness. On the palate, aromatic and long, with noble astringency. This beautiful Gruaud is particularly refined and impresses with great class. It could develop into one of the best Grand Cru values.

66.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 6.5% Petit Verdot. Floral bouquet, black cherries, cedar, dark peppercorns and subtle smoky notes, noble with a delicate Cabernet sweetness. On the palate, aromatic and long, with a noble astringency. This beautiful Gruaud is particularly refined and impresses with great class. It could develop into one of the best Grand Cru values.

Fine, opulent, sweet, dense, creamy bouquet with cassis cream, coconut, vanilla, redcurrant jelly, mocha cream. Balanced, dense, creamy, multi-layered palate with powerful, sweet fruit, plenty of fine tannins, rich sweet aromatics, and a long, concentrated finish with plenty of lingering flavors. Can improve further. 18/20 2019 - 2038

Redcurrant and raspberry fruits, acidity a little fresher than in some St Juliens in what is a pretty gourmet vintage at this 10-year window. White pepper and rosemary spice, along with a lilting, sappy slate minerality. Don’t expect concentration through the mid-palate, but this is charming, finessed, and ready to start drinking. 40% new oak.

Deep garnet in color, the 2012 Gruaud Larose needs a bit of shaking to wake up notes of plum pudding, raisin cake, and dried mulberries, plus wafts of tobacco leaf, new leather, and rusty nails. The medium-bodied palate is rugged, chewy, and a little rustic, with soft acidity and a spicy lift on the finish.

Gruaud Larose 2012 is a light, nicely oaked, elegant wine with good length that will age well, as usual.

Logo on the cork: CSP Deep, intense colour, slightly evolved. Very aromatic nose, already showing a bouquet. Hints of ripe fruit and cedar. Precise on the attack, charming, graceful and tasty on the mid-palate, the wine unfolds delicately and, above all, is impossible to spit out. It doesn’t have the richness of 2009, 2010 or 2011, but the immediate pleasure is high. Final blend: 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc and 27% Merlot. Alcohol content: 13.48%.

92–94. Barrel sample. With so much spicy fruit, intensely ripe blackberry flavors and solid tannins, all the elements of excellence are here, and powered by a firm structure. This wine has weight and a fine Cabernet concentration.

A nice, earthy, black-fruited, spicy and meaty 2012 Gruaud Larose, with medium body, excellent depth, chunky roasted herb and aged beef notes; this wine finishes authoritatively and the tannins are reasonably ripe. Give it another 3–5 years of cellaring and drink it over the following 15 or so years.