Château Gruaud-Larose
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 82 hectares (200 acres) and are planted with 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec.
Second wine
The Château produces a second wine called Sarget de Château Gruaud-Larose, or Larose de Gruaud. There is also a third label of this château's wine: La Roseraie de Gruaud Larose
References
- ^ Château Gruaud-Larose: Vintages Archived 2008-10-04 at the Wayback Machine, accessed October 9, 2008
- ^ Château Gruaud-Larose: A Varying Blend of Several Grape Varieties Archived 2008-10-04 at the Wayback Machine, accessed October 9, 2008
- ^ "La Roseraie de Gruaud Larose". Archived from the original on 2013-10-16. Retrieved 2013-10-06.