Winemaker Notes
This wine shows a purplish-red color and a complex nose of blackcurrant, blackberry, and candied cherry with notes of vanilla and almond, while the palate is elegant, silky, and subtle with remarkable structure and great finesse, finishing harmoniously with beautiful purity.
Blend: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot, 5% Cabernet Franc.
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot, and 5% Cabernet Franc aged in 38% new barrels (the balance in second- and third-fill), the 2023 Château Gloria is a classic Saint-Julien with real purity and finesse. Ripe blue fruits, cherries, leafy tobacco, and spicy wood notes all shine on the nose, and it's medium-bodied on the palate, with a pure, layered, elegant mouthfeel, soft, polished tannins, and considerable charm and accessibility. Drink this lovely Saint-Julien over the coming 15-20 years. Tasted multiple times with consistent notes.
-
James Suckling
Ripe but fresh blackberries, mulberries, hibiscus and dark currants with a touch of fine spices and violet. Very young, but the high quality of the wine is fathomable. Fleshy, juicy and flavorful, with polished tannins on the medium-to full-bodied palate. Long and deep finish. Bottled recently in July, just a month ago. 50% cabernet sauvignon, 35% merlot, 10% petit verdot and 5% cabernet franc.
-
Wine Spectator
Vivid boysenberry, plum reduction and açaí fruit drives along with clarity and focus thanks to a racy graphite spine. Mouthwatering apple wood and solid cast iron accents help lengthen the finish as the fruit keeps pace. It’s hard to be any more St.-Julien than this. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2028 through 2042.
-
Decanter
Distinctly floral aromas quite beguiled my senses - a brilliant start - leading to a pretty palate: balanced, clean, and with plenty of charm. Tasted a second time, I noticed some raw tannin, but that can be resolved with the barrel ageing (38% new in for the 2023 vintage). Overall, an excellent St-Julien, and for a very good price.
Barrel Sample: 93 -
Vinous
The 2023 Gloria is bright, punchy and super-expressive. Red-toned fruit, crushed flowers, white pepper and mocha are nicely dialed up. this super-classic Saint-Julien delivers the goods. Best of all, it should be a great value. –Antonio Galloni
Barrel Sample: 91-93 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
An attractive effort, the 2023 Gloria offers up aromas of dark berries and plums mingled with subtle hints of violets and licorice. It's medium to full-bodied, taut and lively, with good depth and persistence. This blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet France is the third and final vintage of organic conversion at Gloria.
Barrel Sample: 90-92
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
An icon of balance and tradition, St. Julien boasts the highest proportion of classed growths in the Médoc. What it lacks in any first growths, it makes up in the rest: five amazing second growth chateaux, two superb third growths and four well-reputed fourth growths. While the actual class rankings set in 1855 (first, second, and so on the fifth) today do not necessarily indicate a score of quality, the classification system is important to understand in the context of Bordeaux history. Today rivalry among the classed chateaux only serves to elevate the appellation overall.
One of its best historically, the estate of Leoville, was the largest in the Médoc in the 18th century, before it was divided into the three second growths known today as Chateau Léoville-Las-Cases, Léoville-Poyferré and Léoville-Barton. Located in the north section, these are stone’s throw from Chateau Latour in Pauillac and share much in common with that well-esteemed estate.
The relatively homogeneous gravelly and rocky top soil on top of clay-limestone subsoil is broken only by a narrow strip of bank on either side of the “jalle,” or stream, that bisects the zone and flows into the Gironde.
St. Julien wines are for those wanting subtlety, balance and consistency in their Bordeaux. Rewarding and persistent, the best among these Bordeaux Blends are full of blueberry, blackberry, cassis, plum, tobacco and licorice. They are intense and complex and finish with fine, velvety tannins.