Château Gruaud Larose

1949

1949 Château Gruaud Larose St Julien Bottled by Cruse et Fils Frères; the bottle was recorked in 1993.
The colour was a rich, intensely dark garnet, a truly beautiful colour for a 72 year old wine. 
The bouquet exuded richly concentrated cherries, with wood and a touch of smoke in the background; it had a dusty character.  On the palate it was rather dried out, with acidic tannins overwhelming the fruit initially, but with time in the glass it mellows considerably.  Mostly one got  berries and quite a lot of cedarwood, with an astringent finish of 30 seconds. 
Clearly the  bouquet is best part; this wine is past its peak but still delivering quite a respectable performance.  3.25/5
 
7/2021/6379