Château Gruaud-Larose: Vineyards
The Château Gruaud-Larose estate amounts to 150 hectares of the St Julien appellation, of which 82 hectares are vineyard, although of this usually only 77 hectares are planted to vines, while 5 hectares remain fallow, as the property has an ongoing program of replanting; the bulk of the vineyard lies around the château, separated from the Gironde by the small village of Beychevelle. This arrangement is no different to that which was recorded at the time of the 1855 classification, this being one of only a few properties which can claim this. To the west there lies a long border with Château Lagrange, while along the northern section the vineyard runs alongside parcels in the possession of Château Branaire-Ducru and Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, both châteaux located close to the Gironde but which have many parcels scattered further inland.
As noted to the east lies Beychevelle, the town, as well as parcels belonging to Château Branaire-Ducru, Château Ducru-Beaucaillou and Château Saint-Pierre. Along the southern border there runs a strip of wooded marshland, within which lies the Chenal du Milieu and the parallel drainage channels known as the Jalle du Nord and Jalle du Sud. On the far side the vineyards have the Haut-Médoc appellation, the estate’s neighbour in this direction being Château Lanessan.
The soils are very typical for the region, with deep beds of Quaternary gravel (pictured below) underfoot, the vineyard sitting neatly on a large croupe of gravel derived from Terrace 3. The varieties planted are led by Cabernet Sauvignon, as you would expect, and the ratios of the varieties has changed very little during the time I have been following the estate and its wines. Today the vineyard is 64% Cabernet Sauvignon (up a few points), 30% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc (down a few points) and 2% Petit Verdot. As already noted in my profile it is not that long ago that there was still some Malbec in the vineyard, although this has clearly all since been pulled up.
