Larose de Gruaud

While it pairs well with all roast meats, game is where this wines shines: deer stew, pheasant, hare terrine. Also try with dishes containing truffles or sweetbreads.

100% Quaternary Garonne gravel soil deposited 600,000 years ago over a clay-limestone subsoil. Organic compost created specifically for Gruaud Larose at the estate. Integrated phytosanitary protection by encouraging beneficiary insects and by replacing the use of chemicals with tilling and organic mulching. Raised trelliswork to maximize photosynthesis in order to increase the color and tannins. Rigorous pruning. Leaf thinning to maximize exposure to sun and green harvest to concentrate fruit.

Aged 14 months in 1-year-old French oak barrels to preserve the fruitiness and natural balance of this wine.

Fermentation in both concrete and giant wooden vats. Malolactic fermentation in new barrels in a thermo-regulated cellar.

Chevalier de Gruard and Chevalier de La Rose owned this 70 hectare estate in Saint-Julien in the mid 18th century. Their two names were first associated on a label in 1781. Due to inheritance problems the estate was divided in two until 1935 when Désiré Cordier who had already bought a part in the early 1900s restored the domain to its original size. Since the 1980s Gruard Larose has been held by groups of institutional investors before coming into the hands of the Merlant family in 1997. The vines are in a single block on a rise consisting of deep red gravel. Georges Pauli and his team have been responsible for winegrowing since 1970. Due to their expert care Gruard Larose's soil is able to express its full potential. The wine is more than ever worthy of its Second Growth status in the 1855 classification.