Chateau Laroze St Emilion GCC 2012, 2014 and 2015

Let’s learn more about Château Laroze St Emilion Grand Cru Classe and share our insights into its vintages.

The captivating 2012 vintage is a fascinating discovery, showcasing a light, unique style with its rare, bright red fruit and herbal notes. This distinctiveness makes it ideal for early drinking. It offers good length, well-mannered tannins, and maintains a consistent, forward-thinking style, a rarity in a decade marked by warmer years. VindeVert awarded it 93 points, noting the aromatic and elegant nose, particularly those of boysenberry, plum, and delicate hints of cassis, along with touches of undergrowth, mocha, and flowers. The palate reflects the nose and is fruity(small cassis, blackberry, plums), gourmand, elegant, fleshy, and complete, with a racy character. It boasts a beautiful definition, a mineral structure, roundness, suavity, and a velvety texture with nuances of liquorice, chocolate, tobacco, subtle caramelized oak, and a discreet vanilla note. The tannins are just fine and finish elegantly. This is the perfect time to uncork a bottle of 2012 and experience its unique charm.

The 2014 vintage, despite mixed reviews, exhibits a fleshy, juicy appeal, substance, and strength. It showcases a beautiful aromatic freshness on the nose, featuring blackberry, liquorice, and blond tobacco accents. A dynamic, tender acidity is evident on the palate. The tannins are well-structured and exhibit an elegant ripeness, and this St. Emilion Grand Cru Classé (GCC) finishes with a Right Bank sensation of fullness. While it may be considered straightforward by GCC standards, it remains very approachable. Now is the time to enjoy a bottle of 2014 with the right food and be pleasantly surprised by its charm.

The 2015 vintage is medium-bodied, delivering an elegantly styled palate with ripe flavours of plum, cassis, cherries, and blackberry, primarily from Merlot, with one-third Cabernet Franc. It achieves a good balance and features polished tannins, thanks to 70% new oak, which adds a soft creaminess that complements the aromas of grilled almond oak, liquorice, and dark chocolate. It received a JD94 rating. Parker praised this vintage, awarding it RP 93, highlighting its vibrant and expressive notes of red currants, black raspberries, warm plums, and touches of violets, chocolate-covered cherries, lavender, and a hint of fallen leaves. The wine is youthful and exuberant, with layers of red and black fruit, finishing with an abundance of perfume and polish. Very classy! Decanter awarded it 94 points and predicted its longevity, noting that it showcases the characteristics of Cabernet from the Left Bank, making it almost reminiscent of a Médoc. The 2015 vintage is more rewarding than 2014, but that doesn’t mean it drinks better than 2012 and 2014. For now, and within the next five years, you probably won’t want to wait that long!