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Château Gloria 2004

The 2004 vintage has given me a good run of drinking over the past year or two. Although I think, with the appearance of Château Gloria in this slot, it might now be coming to an end. Unless I find another bottle from this vintage lurking at the back of the wine fridge, I will have to move onto 2005. Admittedly, no hardship.

Château Gloria has one of the more remarkable histories of the all the St Julien châteaux. While not included among the eleven classified growths of the appellation, it is regularly spoken of in the same breath (along with Clos du Marquis), and rightly so. The reason for this can be traced back to the actions of the estate’s creator, Henri Martin (1903 – 1991).

A one time mayor of St Julien, Henri grew up surrounded by vineyards and he was no stranger to the cuverie. His grandfather was maître de chai at Gruaud-Larose, and his father was an accomplished barrel maker who worked out of buildings on the Saint-Pierre estate. Once he had finished his education Henri also worked in wine, starting out at Château Saint-Pierre Bontemps-Dubarry, one half of today’s Château Saint-Pierre (at this time the property was divided). While the family owned a few rows of vines, there seemed little hope of them ever stepping up to grander things, and this was made almost certain in 1936 when Henri’s father sold up.

Henri, however, was not to be deterred. His fortunes began to change when he acquired a tiny slice of the St Julien vineyard in 1939, followed by a larger 6-hectare slice of vineyard in a deal facilitated by Jean-Charles Cazes (1877 – 1972), best known for his tenure of Lynch-Bages but also known to do a little financing. Believing he could never afford to buy a classified growth, Henri decided he would instead build an estate of equivalent standing; these first acquisitions formed the nidus around which the estate would grow.

Chateau Gloria 2004

Subsequently joined in his venture by his father, the Martin family sold their grocery business and threw everything into their new vineyard. Purchasing vines only from neighbouring classified growths, Henri did indeed build up an estate of equal standing. He named the property Château Gloria in 1942, the same year he took on those 6 hectares, in the midst of the Second World War; it has been said that Gloria was chosen as Henri saw the diverse collection of vineyard parcels he was amassing as resembling a choir of different voices, singing different notes but coming together in harmony. To be honest, I have heard at least two other alternative explanations for the name, one of which was that the original parcel was located in a lieu-dit named Gloria, which seems rather more likely. Although the ‘choir of voices’ makes for a better story.

Henri Martin did so well with Château Gloria that he and his son-in-law Jean-Louis Triaud eventually realised that they could afford to acquire a true classified growth, rather than building a piecemeal equivalent, as they had done. And thus they began acquiring the disparate parts of the aforementioned Château Saint-Pierre and eventually they reunified the property, which had been ranked as a fourth growth in the 1855 classification. But that is a story for another time. For the moment, let’s stick with Château Gloria.

Today Château Gloria has been in the possession of the Martin and Triaud family for just over a century, Jean-Louis Triaud having passed the baton to his son Jean, daughter Vanessa and the latter’s husband, Orphée Amougou, with the next generation also beginning to step up. Looking back to prior encounters with the estate’s wine, it is strange that – despite this long period of family ownership (which usually protects the contents of an estate’s cellar, as it is when a château is sold that old vintages are often drunk up or sold off) – I have never come across a bottle of significant age. The 1982 vintage is the oldest tasted, and it showed well if still rather youthful; admittedly, that was tasted back in 2000, when Winedoctor was in its infancy. It was superior to the 1988, tasted on the same occasion, by a slim margin, although my favourite vintage for many years was 1996, the equal of and perhaps better than the fabled 1982.

It’s not that giant a leap from 1996 to 2004, I guess.

In the glass the 2004 Château Gloria displays plentiful notes of tobacco leaf, crushed gravel and smoked warm blackberry fruits, all dressed with savoury elements some of which turn towards the herbaceous, including juniper berry, green peppercorn and bay leaf. The palate feels supple, juicy and fresh, with layers of fine and powdery tannins which feel nicely integrated with the substance of the wine, beneath a lightly bitter presence of dark berry fruits. Dark, smoky and a touch reductive even at this age, with crunchy blackberry, black plum skins, touched with liquorice and tobacco, this appears to be developing nicely, with bitter veins and a backbone of grained yet sweet tannins. A fine sense of finesse and harmony here, with a powdery length. A quite lovely example of the 2004 vintage, drinking beautifully now, but I would say there is still an upside here. Drink or hold. The alcohol is 13% on the label. 92/100

This wine – like a few others in this vintage – surprises with its understated charm and drinkability. Having said that, I am sure there are superior vintages out there. Which reminds me, somewhere I have notes on a Château Gloria vertical to be written up. I had better get on with it. (6/7/26)

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