Chateau Gruaud-Larose Saint-Julien 1986 – 750ml Redneck Wine Company

97pts Decanter

Both vintages of Gruaud-Larose absolutely stand out in this lineup, and I recommend them both for thoroughly enjoyable drinking today. This was pretty monolithic when young and evolved very slowly. It’s still showing tons of black fruits with tobacco, coffee and truffle. Chewy tannins are still evident, with everything clearly signposting a great vintage from legendary winemaker Georges Pauli. 3% Petit Verdot completes the blend.

96pts Robert Parker

Still tasting as if it were only 7-8 years of age, the dense, garnet/purple-colored 1986 Gruaud-Larose is evolving at a glacier pace. The wine still has mammoth structure, tremendous reserves of fruit and concentration, and a finish that lasts close to a minute. The wine is massive, very impressively constituted, with still some mouth-searing tannin to shed. Decanting of one to two hours in advance seems to soften it a bit, but this is a wine that seems to be almost immortal in terms of its longevity. It is a great Medoc classic, and certainly one of the most magnificent Gruaud-Larose ever made. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2035.

95pts Vinous

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. 

92pts John Gilman

At age 30, 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.