Your (rookie) Partner-In-Wine 2014 – Sarget Chateau Gruaud Larose

I picked up this second wine called Sarget vintage 2014 from Chateau Gruaud-Larose just a week ago from our local retailer Nicolas. When buying the bottle I was thinking that for an affordable bottle to drink immediately instead of storing, there would not be a better choice than to try a second wine from a chateau with long history.

Now you may wonder what does "a second wine" refer to? Don't worry, this is part of the wine slang not known to all. Second wine means with all simplicity that the wine is made of the grapes not good enough for some reason to be put into the chateau`s first wine. 

The Chateau Gruaud-Larose winery has a long history dating back to 1778 when it started operating by the name it carries today. It got the the second growth in 1855 classifications the Medoc. Gruaud-Larose is situated on the left bank of Bordeaux. Unfortunately this chateau has a questionable reputation of producing unstable quality of wines. It has had long breaks between quality vintages (1961, 1982, 1986, 1990, 2000, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016) during the years.

Sarget 2014 consists of 70% of Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% of Merlot, 4% of Cabernet Franc and 4% of Petit Verdot. 

The label is very beautiful with the face of Baron Sarget who was managing the Chateau in the 18th century. The label and the history together makes you give this bottle a go. 2014 vintage should be one of the best vintages of millennium they have produced.

The wine has very pretty medium ruby color, which I think is already pretty good indication that you are in for a treat. The feeling of getting something good gets stronger as it is pretty powerful and complex on the nose. I decanted the wine around three hours before trying it, but it still evolved nicely in the glass. Last drops were by far the best around six hours after opening the bottle. 

I feel that even if it promised a lot on the nose, it disappointed little on the palate. The wine is very dry, which is occasionally good thing, but being very closed and hard at this young age, it was missing the softness a bit. On the Palate I could taste dark chocolate but craved for little more fruity touch. There is a lot of potential in this wine and if it softens a bit with time it might be a great wine for its price. 

Verdict: Buy and hold. 

"I love everything that is old: old times, old friends, old manners, old books, old wines" 

(Oliver Goldsmith)