Château Gruaud-Larose is a

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...

in the Saint-Julien

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...

of the

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

region of France. It is also the name of the red wine produced by this property. The wine produced here was classified as one of fifteen ''Deuxièmes Crus'' (Second Growths) in the original

Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 resulted from the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, when Emperor Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordeaux wines that were to be on display for visitors from ...

History

The property has a younger history than most of its cohorts. Its origins date to 1725 and the knight Joseph Stanislas Gruaud. The property was called Fond-Bedeau, and was administered by two Gruauds; one a priest and the other a magistrate. The magistrate, the Chevalier du Gruaud, died in 1778 and his part of the property was deeded to Joseph Sebastian de La Rose, who renamed this property Gruaud-La Rose or Gruaud-Larose. This piece was classified as a Second Growth in 1855. Control of the property was split among multiple descendants, but the property remained intact until 1867 when it was split into Château Gruaud-Larose-Sarget (after the Baron Sarget) and Château Gruaud-Larose-Faure (after Adrien Faure, who married one Sophie Bethmann, heiress to a portion of the estate). The two châteaux were reunited by the Cordier family, who purchased the Sarget piece in 1917 and the Faure piece in 1935; the château became a centerpiece of the many Cordier properties along with Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey and Château Talbot. In 1983 it was purchased by the Compagnie de Suez, and in 1993 by Alcatel-Alsthom, and in 1997 by the Taillan Group, headed by Jacques Merlaut, which owns a number of other properties, most notably Château Haut-Bages-Liberal.

Vineyards

The vineyards cover Château Gruaud-Larose: Vintages
, accessed October 9, 2008 and are planted with 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 3%

Petit Verdot Petit Verdot is a variety of red wine grape, principally used in classic Bordeaux blends. It ripens much later than the other varieties in Bordeaux, often too late, so it fell out of favour in its home region. When it does ripen it adds tannin, ...

and 2%

Malbec Malbec () is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins, and are known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine. In France, plantations of Malbec are n ...

Second wine

The Château produces a

second wine Second wine or second label (French: ''Second vin'') is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from '' cuvee'' not selected for use in the ''Grand vin'' or first label. In some cases a third wine or ev ...

called Sarget du Château Gruaud-Larose, or Larose de Gruaud. There is also a third label of this château's wine: La Roseraie de Gruaud LaroseLa Roseraie de Gruaud Larose
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References

External links

Château Gruaud-Larose official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gruaud-Larose, Chateau Bordeaux wine producers Monuments historiques of Gironde