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2005 Château Gruaud Larose, St Julien, Bordeaux

  • Red
  • Dry
  • Full Bodied
  • Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Merlot (32%), Cabernet Franc (4%), Petit Verdot (3%), Malbec (1%)
Ready - mature (Drink 2011 - 2033)
Jane Anson
96/100
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW
95/100
Neal Martin
92/100
Jeb Dunnuck
90/100
Robert Parker
90/100
James Lawther MW
16.5/20
Jancis Robinson MW
17.5/20
Matthew Jukes
17?/20
Product: 20058004383

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2005 Château Gruaud Larose, St Julien, Bordeaux

Description

This is showing maturity with softened tannins and refined balance. Notes of dried cassis, cigar box, leather and forest floor mingle alongside the fruit, which is just starting to turn. It’s savoury and fully harmonious and is drinking beautifully. I would expect a further five years to benefit the wine, bringing further interest in its tertiary phase. This is a classic Gruaud Larose to have in the cellar.

Daniel Martin, Private Client Manager, Berry Bros. & Rudd (September 2025)

Colour Red
Sweetness Dry
Vintage 2005
Alcohol % 13%
Maturity Ready - mature (2011 - 2033)
Grape List Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Merlot (32%), Cabernet Franc (4%), Petit Verdot (3%), Malbec (1%)
Body Full Bodied
Producer Château Gruaud-Larose

Critics reviews

Jane Anson 96/100
Stately ruby red, raspberry and cassis fruits, still young, needs another few years to fully open and integrate, but everything is there for a brilliant wine with pleasure. This is a château that always takes its time, and needs half an hour in the glass to reveal smoked vanilla bean, sweet raspberry puree, turmeric spice, fresh acidity and crushed mint. Not showing quite as well as it did at a château vertical last year, but this is still a wonderful wine, and is one to look out for. Harvest September 20 to October 11, 35% new oak.
Drink 2022 - 2045
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com (Jun 2022)
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW 95/100
The 2005 Gruaud Larose is medium to deep garnet-brick in color. It needs a moment of swirling to bring out fragrant notes of rosehip tea, crushed rocks, dried lavender, and red loam leading to a core of prunes, redcurrant jelly, and black truffles. The medium-bodied palate shimmers with energetic black and red berry layers supported by firm, fine-grained tannins and lovely tension, finishing long and minerally.
Drink 2024 - 2042
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, TheWineIndependent.com (Jan 2024)
Neal Martin 92/100

The 2005 Gruaud Larose, which was decanted for 30 minutes upon my request, replicated its performance a couple of years ago. This was the final vintage to include Malbec (1%). It has a very "useful" bouquet of blackberry, juniper berries and cedar that opens with vigour in the glass with satisfying intensity. The palate is slightly less "broad-shouldered" than before, very powerful to the point of being almost overpowering, and the slightly feral finish slightly shifts it away from Bordeaux typicité. Drink now or over the next 20 years. Tasted at the château.
Drink 2025 - 2045
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (Jun 2025)
Jeb Dunnuck 90/100
Fully mature, with a pretty, perfumed, almost understated style, the 2005 Château Gruaud Larose has classic red and black fruits, spicy herbs, leather, and some underbrush notes in a medium-bodied, balanced, silky package that's drinking nicely today. There's no upside here, but it will clearly continue evolving for another decade or more.
Drink 2024 - 2035
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (Apr 2024)
Robert Parker 90/100
The 2005 Gruaud Larose has a deep ruby/purple color, excellent concentration, and clean, pure black and red currant fruit, licorice and spice. It is medium to full-bodied, lush, and very soft and round. I’m surprised how drinkable it is already, although it is certainly capable of lasting 15 or more years.
Drink 2015 - 2030
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (Jun 2015)
James Lawther MW 16.5/20

60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot, 1% Malbec.

Brick hue. Riper profile than the five previous vintages. Dark and red fruit on the nose but still a little muddy. Better fruit weight and density on the mid palate with a firmness to the tannins. Touch hard on the finish. Has all the components but misses some precision.
Drink 2023 - 2030
James Lawther MW, JancisRobinson.com (Mar 2023)
Jancis Robinson MW 17.5/20
Deep, shaded blackish ruby. Light, rather sweaty nose. Relatively simple. A toothsome mouthful with the tannins receding if tasted in isolation but trumped by some of these wines.
Drink 2025 - 2040
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com (Sep 2025)
Matthew Jukes 17?/20
Simpler and more open than many, yet still a little raw and unfinished, this is a slightly clumsy wine that is unlikely to find equilibrium.
Matthew Jukes, MatthewJukes.com (Sep 2025)

About this wine

Saint-Julien

Saint-Julien

St Julien is the smallest of the ‘Big Four’ Médoc communes although, without any First Growths, it is recognised to be the most consistent of the main communes with many châteaux turning out impressive wines year after year. The wines can be judged as much by texture as flavour, and there is a sleek, wholesome character to the best. At their very finest they combine Margaux’s elegance and refinement with Pauillac’s power and substance.
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