Based on 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, the 2018 Château Gruaud Larose sports a dense purple hue as well as a stunning nose of pure crème de cassis, cedar pencil shavings, blackcurrants, smoked tobacco, and a liquid rock-like sense of minerality. This dense, almost broodingly backward, concentrated Saint-Julien has flawless balance, a remarkable sense of purity, masses of tannins, and one hell of a great finish. Seemingly almost from a more austere year (say 2000 or 2010), it's not going to hit maturity for at least a decade and should cruise in cold cellars for 20-30 years. It's a brilliant wine!

Aromas of currants, blackberries, dried flowers, dark chocolate and tobacco leaves. Citrus zest, too. It’s full-bodied with firm, ultra fine tannins. Complex and layered with a juicy core of ripe fruit. Silky and delicious. Very creamy and fine-tannined. Better from 2025.

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 Gruaud Larose needs a little coaxing before it bursts onto the scene with notes of stewed black plums, boysenberry preserves, and blackcurrant pastilles plus suggestions of underbrush, wild roses, and cumin seed with a waft of espresso. The medium to full-bodied palate is jam packed with spicy black fruits framed by velvety tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long and opulent. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown

This is good quality, not exactly generous but clearly carefully extracted - they kept the simultaneous alcoholic and malolactic fermentations to between 24°C and 26°C. It's packed full of flavour, with real precision to the fruit. Bramble and hedgerow scents suggest a firm acidity and a structure that's built to last, while still being appetising and full of pleasure. As it opens in the glass, liquorice and dark chocolate come to the fore. A wine that will age well without question. 85% new oak. Read more at https://www.decanter.com/wine-reviews/france/bordeaux/chateau-gruaud-larose-st-julien-2eme-cru-classe-2018-29336#jAcjg9GIDZBSbWZ2.99

Round, plush, soft and full-bodied, the wine offers good richness, layers of ripe, currants, cherries and plums. There is depth and complexity with a touch of stone in the elegant, luxurious finish. Clearly Gruaud Larose is back on target. The wine was made from blending 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc. Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/wine-tasting-note/?vintage=2018&wine=Chateau%20Gruaud%20Larose

A densely textured and rich wine, this has power and concentration. Smoky tannins show strongly as well as juicy black-currant fruits that are still young. The wine, with its structure, is just starting on a journey to aging. Drink from 2027. - Roger Voss

This has a bit of polish to its mix of cassis, crushed plum and blackberry fruit flavors before a wave of bittersweet cocoa, tobacco, and iron score the finish. But while muscular and grippy in the end, there's ample freshness here throughout. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2023 through 2036.

This has a bit of polish to its mix of cassis, crushed plum and blackberry fruit flavors before a wave of bittersweet cocoa, tobacco, and iron score the finish. But while muscular and grippy in the end, there's ample freshness here throughout. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2023 through 2036. – JM

Primary blackberry and blueberry fruits abound, rippling with tar, chocolate, bristling tannins. A gorgeous wine, full of gourmet edges, seductive and creamy, if a little less St Julien in signature than the other more recent vintages of Gruaud Larose - as was typical in a vintage with such a warm summer, and such a concentration of flavours in the September leading up to harvest. 40hl/h yield, 90% new oak. 50% of the vineyard was being farmed organically at this stage, with harvest from September 20 to October 6. Second vintage for Virginie Sallette as technical director, as she had arrived in 2017 from Ducru Beaucaillou.

Composed of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc, the 2018 Gruaud Larose has a medium to deep garnet-purple color. It comes barreling out of the glass with powerful scents of blackberry preserves, baked plums and crème de cassis plus hints of fruitcake, Indian spices and tobacco leaf. The medium to full-bodied palate offers bags of baked berries flavors and a chewy texture with just enough freshness, finishing spicy. Judging by the slightly rustic tannins and suggestions of dried berry characters, I'm guessing the heat and drought had an impact this year. This said, the wine is very well crafted and delicious right now, although a good 3-4 years in bottle should soften the tannins and bring out further nuances. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown

The 2018 Gruaud Larose has a burly and powerful nose with blackberry and juniper, perhaps without the same precision as the previous vintage, the summer stamping its authority over the aromatics. The palate is medium-bodied with a slightly lactic entry, though less than before, with dark chocolate infusing the black fruit with a dab of black pepper and spice box on the finish. It finishes with style, though I prefer the 2019 by comparison. Tasted at the Gruaud Larose vertical at the château in February 2023. -- Neal Martin