Chateau Gruaud Larose

I was quite excited when I was able to book an appointment with Château Gruaud Larose. It’s not everyday that you get to visit a Second-​Growth Château in Bordeaux and try their wines!
–COST–
8 euros/​group
15 euros/​private
*free with purchase
Our guide, who spoke perfect English, was informative and gracious making our private tour a success. In the beginning of the tour, we had a choice to go to the tower and another location to go over the history of the winery. I picked the tower; if it’s a clear, sunny day, go for the tower. The view is phenomenal!
As we climbed up stairs to the top of the tower, the history started melting together where I can almost imagine it in front of me. As we finished snapping some photos on top of the tower, we made our way down to their VATS and cellars.
In the end, we made it back to their small tasting room. FINALLY! Today (Sept 14′), I got to taste their 2004 Vintage and their 2007’s 2^nd label (Sarget). Unfortunately, the wines that I tasted today did not suit my palate. I wished I was able to try some of the their better vintages, maybe next time if I’m lucky.
Overall, I enjoyed my visit at Château Gruaud Larose. Plus, I got to meet the new winemaker in passing. I was impressed by her because you don’t see many young female winemaker in top Chateaus such as this. Thank you Château Gruaud for a lovely visit, sante!

Our last stop on Day 1 of the wife and my wine tour was Château Gruaud Larose, a Second Growth château in Saint-​Julien. Tours were by invite only, which wasn’t a problem since we were a part of group and all arrangements had been made in advance. Our guide was gracious, knowledgeable, and spoke excellent English. The château and its surround vineyard were visually appealing. Its winemaking operations were comparable to other Bordeaux chateaus with a blend of the modern with the traditional. Our tour culminated in tasting the 2004 Château Gruaud Larose and their second wine, a 2007 Sarget Gruaud Larose.

Stopped by this ‘invite only’ place but they accommodated. Interesting history and a real inventive approach to transforming their wines above the norm. Nice tour and staff. Tour was primarily in french but they answered all my questions in english when I had them or did not understand.