France

Cabernet Sauvignon

Merlot

Cabernet Franc

Petit Verdot

Ch. Gloria

Chateau Gloria Saint-Julien

Bordeaux

Saint-Julien

Intense with a bright plum colour, spicy, dark fruits, coffee bean and cocoa, this is almost heading towards overdone but it pulls back, leans into the vintatge and is very much on point with estate signature. It has texture and depth, a little overly concentrated through the mid palate but shows the restraint that comes with the pummic stone texture of St Julien tannins. One to watch over ageing. In biodynamic conversion.

Inside Bordeaux

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2022 Gloria starts off with a quiet intensity of kirsch and fragrant soil scents, leading to a core of warm cassis, black raspberries, and Indian spices plus a hint of sandalwood. The medium to full-bodied palate is laden with black and red berry flavors, supported by plush tannins and a lively backbone, finishing with an invigorating lift.

by Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW

Amateur

Deep garnet-purple colored. Rolls out with notes of red plums and black raspberries, plus touches of wild thyme and pencil shavings. Light to medium-bodied, the palate is chewy and refreshing with delicate flavors and a peppery finish.

The 2023 Gloria has a deep garnet-purple color. It is a little sluggish to begin, with notes of sauteed herbs, damp soil, and tar soon opening out to a core of stewed strawberries, plums, and cedar chest. The medium-bodied palate is chewy, with nice freshness and just enough savory-laced fruit, finishing a little short and firm.

The 2021 Gloria has a medium to deep garnet-purple color. It bounds out with eager-to-please notes of black raspberries, Morello cherries and juicy plums, leading to hints of cinnamon stick and rose oil. The medium-bodied palate has a lightly chewy texture and just enough fruits, finishing a tad abruptly.

Bordeaux- messe 2023. Ingen notat. 90p

Bordeaux- messe 2024. Ingen notat. 91p

Expert

So good, this is a vibrant mix of young and exuberant, luxurious, seriously creamy in texture, crushed stone, baked earth, smoked caramel, damson, sweet blackberry and damson fruits. This is pure pleasure, hard to resist. 45% new oak, 40hl/ha yield, harvest September 23 to October 4. Remi di Constanzo technical director.

Mint leaf, marzipan, fennel, smoked earth, fig, freshly grated black truffle, and a ton of cassis fruit. This is young but complex, with a bright future. The only wine in the vertical that is above 14% in alcohol, a reflection of the vintage, and a reminder in fact of just how balanced and old school St Julien is almost every year. Good stuff, full of life. 40% new oak. Harvest September 20 to October 1. Remi di Constanzo technical director.

In a vintage where there are plenty of underperforming wines, this is full of pleasure. Real precision, clear crafting of the blue and red berry fruit, set against smoked earth, undergrowth, and crayon, this is a vintage where Gloria can shine, where its softness and generosity offers a cushion to the austerity of the year. 40% new oak, harvest September 18 to 26. Gloria was not impacted by the frost in the early part of the season, thanks to St Julien's location next to the Garonne river, ensuring a normal yield. Remi di Constanzo technical director.

Plum colour, with spiced damson and raspberry leaf aromatics. A good few years from being truly open and ready to drink, this is nevertheless superbly enjoyable, even if closed in. Unrolls to show waves of cocoa bean, dark chocolate shavings, espresso, crushed rocks, bilberry and blackcurrant fruits. The chewy tannins are confident and dominating the structure, exerting quiet control over the shape and form of the palate. Bursting with poential. 40% new oak, with one of the latest harvests in the vertical, running from September 29 to October 17. Remi di Constanzo technical director.

This style of vintage really suits Gloria, with its cheerful, exuberant character, silky tannins and clear power. You'll find plenty of precision and bite through the blueberry and cassis fruits, excellent quality, bright, bristling and full of life. The signature of St Julien comes through, and this is softly spoken but with quiet confidence, layering on slate and gunsmoke edges on the finish. 40% new oak, harvest September 21 to October 7. Remi di Constanzo technical director.

The 2014 vintage is delivering right now across the halo appellations of St Estèphe, Pauillac, and St Julien, and this displays precise architecture and well held together, chewy tannins. Black fruit, supple leather notes, chalk, cassis, slate, full of character, shoulders to the tannins, still young. One to look out for. 40% new oak, September 25 to October 10 for the harvest, maximising a glorious Indian summer. Remi di Constanzo technical director.

Soft through the mid palate, drink over the next five years to maximise the attractive brambled fruits. This is gentle and unfussy, a good 2013 that has some St Julien character, but stands as an outlier in this excellent Gloria lineup, a reflection of the challenging conditions of the year. 40% new oak. Harvest entirely in October, from 2 to 15, with a yield of 39hl/h. Remi di Constanzo technical director.

The 2012 Gloria is medium to deep garnet colored. The nose is pretty tired with notes of coffee grounds, dried figs, and dusty soil leading to old leather and tobacco hints with a waft of nail varnish. The palate is dried out and rustic with a hard, bitter finish.

Fresh acidities, mint, mandarin peel, fresh earth, delicious brambled autumnal fruit, as it opens a gourmet edge of black truffle and gouda cheese emerge, with bitter black chocolate notes and pencil lead. 40% new oak, 45hl/h yield. Harvest September 15 to 29, Remy di Constanzo technical director.

Dyp farve (vanskelig å vurdere nyanser i restaurantlyset). Varm nese, kjentes ung og frisk umiddelbart. Rik og balansert, hint av solbær. Passe mye eik. Tanninene er der, men frukten balanserer utmerket. Påfuglehale-finish. Ingen bitre toner. Etter to timer i karaffel kommer modningsaromaene. Men den kjennes ikke gammel. Best de første timene. Kanskje ikke noe poeng å dekantere hvis man vil oppleve den i ungdommelig skrud. Kr 1.795,- på kartet. Kvaliteten forsvarer prisen

Amatør

Great stuff, juicy, balanced, enticing, 2009 in a glass. Just a brilliant wine, so delicious and balanced, packed with soft brambled fruits, liquorice and graphite. Not the most intense and concentrated that you'll find in St Julien but this is joyful, great stuff and ready to drink. A buy.

Eucalyptus, mint leaf and spiced plum. The Cabernet Sauvignon is edged with cool-climate notes of tomato leaf and waxed, slightly austere blue fruits, just a little disappointing right now. But looking at the develpment of the 2004 and the 2006, both bursting out of the glass, you can be confident in the development of this wine, just give this a little more time or a serious carafing, as it is closed and not showing its best today. 45% new oak. Remi di Constanzo technical director.

Great moment to open this 2007, on the tightrope of tannins and fruit, clear tobacco, earth, blackberry, cassis, chocolate, espresso. Ready to go with still with depth, complexity and heart. 45% new oak. Remi di Constanzo technical director.

Once more, a consistent, concentated, balanced and poised St Julien, with a hint of abandon. Grilled almond, flint and crayon edges fill out the cassis and bilberry fruits. The 2006 feels significantly younger than the 2004 or 2005, although still ready to drink with a short carafe. A beautiful wine with finesse and punch. 40% new oak, harvest September 20 to October 6. Remi di Constanzo technical director.

Deep plum in colour, medium intensity with consistency of colour from edges through to core, this rolls out notes of cigar box, black cherry, blackberry, campfire, damson, mandarin peel and turmeric spice. Love the smoky notes in St Pierre, a real signature of the wine. Petit Verdot plays a big role in the depth and character. 40% new oak, harvest September 22 to October 5, 46hl/h yield. Remi di Constanzo technical director.

This is a brilliant 2004, rich and supple in texture, with pencil lead, cocoa bean, black cherry, cassis. A kick of fresh acidities makes the whole thing so damn drinkable, reserved and balanced but with a wink and a smile. Love it, one to look out for and recommend. Around 56hl/h yield in this vintage, right up there at the highest allowed for the appellation, and yet just so giving and intense. 45% new oak. Remi di Constanzo technical director.

The last few Pauillac 2003s that I have tasted have been surprisingly young, but St Julien's Gloria is showing some evolution, more in keeping with the expected 20 year point of this drought year. It's attactive, gentle, ash, soot and campfire, with remnants of the heat of the vintage in its turmeric and saffron spice, and the fruit majoring on brambled fig and wild strawberry. Earthy, perhaps a touch of brett. 45% new oak, harvest September 16 to 22, with a low yield. Remi di Constanzo technical director.

Showing the balance and finesse of St Julien, majoring on undergrowth, truffle, blackberry, raspberry puree, crushed earth, with a crackle of minerality, this is an excellent 2002 that is ready to drink, just at the very beginning of the plateau, still with further to uncurl. Unusually, I would place this at the same level of quality as the 2001, even if different in character. 50% new oak, a little higher than average at this estate, and a low yield of 39hl/h. Harvest October 2 to 13. Remi di Constanzo technical director.

A touch more vibrancy in the colour than the 2000, with a charge of electricity on the attack but it softens quickly. Still very much on the plateau, ready to drink and enjoy, fresh acidities on the finish giving emphasis on crushed mint leaf and blackberry fruits. Earthy, touch of white truffle and cold ash. 45% new oak. Remi di Constanzo technical director. Harvest October 1 to 8, with a generous yield of 55hl/h.

Right off the bat this is a beautiful 2000 that has generosity, and is beginning to soften after a long slow rise. Warming and spicy, with enticing notes of black truffles, leather, undergrowth, campfire smoke and gently brambled fruit. There is still focus and structure here, acidity relatively marked, giving emphasis on eucalyptus and mint leaf. A perfect moment to drink, and this is just balanced and effortless, capturing the spirit of St Julien with a little bottle age. Feels on the plateau, not in the ascent, with spice and herbs more evident than fruit at this stage, but full of charm. 40% new oak, with harvest beginning on September 25. First year with Remi di Constanzo as technical director, coming over from Château Cos d'Estournel.

Category	Red wine
Vinmonopolet no.
Producer	Ch. Gloria
Vintages	2022
Country	France, Bordeaux, Saint-Julien
Bottle	75 cl

Alcohol	%
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Sugar	g/l

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