Château Gruaud Larose St Julien Bordeaux 1985

We pulled this '85 vintage Bordeaux from the cellar to enjoy over grilled sirloin steak dinner and to celebrate son Sean's birth year and birthday. This coupled with the occasion of having met the winemaker recently at the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux, during their United States Tour stop in Chicago.

Dark ruby garnet colored with a bit of opacity - medium bodied, this opened with a huge fragrant floral bouquet that fills the mouth and nostrils and lingers for minutes. Earthy blackberry fruit is overshadowed by tones of tobacco leaf, truffle, mushroom and spice box, turning to slightly tart black cherry on the long floral full tannin laced finish.
RM90 points 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=20848

David Launay - Gruaud
Larose Winemaker at
Chicago UGCB tasting.

The Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux tour was showcasing their 2010 vintage release in a tasting held at the Drake Hotel. A highlight of the event was meeting many of the winemakers and producers including Gruaud Larose winemaker David Launey. It was fun to ask him about the various vintage releases that we hold in our cellar. We hold this in abundance going back to the 1978 vintage including the 1981, '82, '83, '85, '86, '88 through '1990, from the nineties and the new millennium. Most notably, we still hold large format bottles of Gruaud Larose 1985 and 1990 from son's Sean and Alec's birth years. David said the 1985 is holding up well but is ready to drink now. It certainly was vibrant and expressive and showing no sign of diminution, but don't expect it to improve further with age.