1970 Gruaud Larose Saint Julien

1970 Gruaud Larose Saint Julien

Upon removing the metal foil, to my shock, the cork was missing! I really didn’t know how long the cork has fallen off into the bottle, and it wasn’t floating, so I suspected it may have fallen for a while as it was completely soaked and sank to the bottom of the bottle (I only found this out after decanting the whole bottle). As such, the content has been held up only by the metal foil for god knows how long! This was my second encounter of such a case, the previous case was a bottle of Pichon Lalande (forgotten vintage). A whiff and I shake my head, it’s probably bad due to the musty and damp closet bouquet. Well, I almost poured the whole decanter into the sink till my wife stopped me, give her a second chance, she whispered. I did and waited half an hour (for a 48 year old wine, that’s eternity!), and I realized the musty nose has gone off, in fact the content was improving tremendously! Very smooth and creamy, albeit still a bit of salty hawthorn character, very easy to drink, definitely has that aged Gruaud Larose legendary character produced during the Cordier era. Phew, don’t write off a bottle easily till you have exhausted all means to try to revitalize it!

1 Oct 2014
I must confess Gruaud Larose tendered by Cordier family in the 60s to late 80s were really great. They make very good wines that's consistent regardless of Mother Nature. This 70 was no exception, tasted like a 62, 66, 69, 75, 78, 81, 82. Did I just named 7 vintages of similarities? That Gruaud Larose. Pleasant, easy going, full of tobacco leaves both in the nose and palette. Aged Gruaud Larose never fails. Just give them a decent vintage, they will perform above and beyond your expectations.