Vinous (Ian  d'Agata) 95 pts!  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.

John Gilman 92+ pts!   This was one of the most popular wines of the vintage when it was first released, as the quality was self-evident and the price was quite reasonable. At age thirty, it is still a few years away from really blossoming, but the high level of quality here remains very easy to see and all that is needed is a bit more patience to let the vintage’s tannic backbone soften up further. The bouquet is classic Gruaud, delivering scents of cassis, dark berries, cigar ash, dark soil tones, a bit of charred wood, plenty of smokiness and cedary oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and nicely robust in personality, with a rock solid core, fine soil signature, ripe, well-integrated tannins and a long, complex and very promising finish. This is starting to get approachable at age thirty, but I would still give it another five to ten years’ worth of bottle age, just to let those tannins melt away further and the wine really start to fire on all cylinders. It is a very good vintage of Gruaud-Larose. (Drink between 2023 - 2065)