Château Gruaud-Larose, Ch. Gruaud Larose 1986

96 / 100 Robert Parker
Still tasting as if it were only 7-8 years of age, the dense, garnet/purple-colored 1986 Gruaud-Larose is evolving at a glacier pace. The wine still has mammoth structure, tremendous reserves of fruit and concentration, and a finish that lasts close to a minute. The wine is massive, very impressively constituted, with still some mouth-searing tannin to shed. Decanting of one to two hours in advance seems to soften it a bit, but this is a wine that seems to be almost immortal in terms of its longevity. It is a great Medoc classic, and certainly one of the most magnificent Gruaud-Larose ever made.
Bordeaux Book, 4th Edition Jan 2003

89 / 100 Wine Spectator
Tight, flat, closed nose, with a cedary, tobacco nuance. Firm, dense structure, dusty with tannins. Fruit suppressed but roundness emerges, with a hint of cassis. Should be a big wine.
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17 / 20 Jancis Robinson
Magnum. One of the stars of the vintage showed good, long-term form. Dense and classic and rather dry on the finish. Super fresh and refreshing.
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