Appellations

Gloria 2018

St Julien

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Tasting Notes

The 2018 Gloria has a wonderful, harmonious bouquet of copious blackberry, briary, cedar and tobacco notes that just feels so... effortless. The very harmonious palate offers pure black fruit laced with graphite. Displaying moderate weight and fine acidity, and quite linear and focused on the finish, this is a very classy Gloria that may warrant a higher score down the line.

Score: 93 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2024 - 2050 Date: 21 August 2021

The 2018 Gloria is tight at first but soon finds its voice with attractive blackberry, raspberry and light cedar/tobacco aromas. The oak is nicely integrated here. The palate is fresh and focused on the entry, classic in style with tobacco and cedar quite vocal towards the fresh and linear finish. This is a stylish, cerebral Gloria that I suspect will age with style and grace. Excellent.

Score: 92 - 94 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2024-2050 Date: 01 November 2019

A youthful, unevolved 2018 with lots of up-front blue and black fruits as well as cedary herbs, violets, and scorched earth, the 2018 Château Gloria is medium to full-bodied and has a beautifully balanced, elegant mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and both richness and freshness. The purity of fruit is spot on. It's another brilliant wine from this estate that readers will love. It's going to benefit from 2-4 years in the cellar and cruise for two decades in cold cellars.

Score: 94 Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com Maturity: 2023 - 2043 Date: 19 July 2021

Readers looking for an estate on the uptick need to check out the 2018 Château Gloria, which is up with the finest vintages I’ve tasted from this Saint-Julien estate. Deeply colored with terrific cassis and blackberry fruits as well as ample leafy herbs and sappy flower notes, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, has polished, elegant tannins, and a great finish. It’s a juicy, fruit-forward effort with good concentration and lots of class. Drink it over the coming 25 years or more. The blend is currently 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, and the balance Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, from a selection of 65% of the total production, that’s currently resting in 40% new French oak.

Score: 92 - 94 Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com Date: 01 May 2019

The 2018 Gloria is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc, aged for approximately 14 months in oak barriques, 40% new. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it sashays out of the glass with flamboyant notes of kirsch, black raspberries and cassis, plus hints of potpourri, unsmoked cigars and star anise. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers a good amount of juicy black and red fruit flavors, backed up by slightly chewy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing spicy.

Score: 92 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2022 - 2040 Date: 15 July 2021

The 2018 Gloria is deep garnet-purple colored and gives up expressive notions of warm red and black currants, black cherries and boysenberries with hints of spice cake, cedar chest, pencil lead and menthol. Full-bodied with a firm texture of ripe, grainy tannins, it has a lively line cutting through the dense, savory layers, finishing on a lingering spicy note. The blend is currently 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc. Anticipated aging is for 14 months in oak barriques, 40% new.

Score: 92 - 94 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Date: 23 April 2019

Gloria is fast becoming one of the most exciting insider wines of the entire Bordeaux region, and that rare species of a non-classified St-Julien. The fruit here is brambly, textured and autumnal, and again the alcohol seems generous but balanced, with plenty of St-Julien finesse. It has a feeling of not needing to go too far to convince anyone. This is some austerity here but there's a bounce to the tannins through the mid-palate, while the alcohol is clearly there but not dominant, helped I would expect by relatively generous yields of 46hl/ha. Very good quality. 5% Cabernet Franc makes up the blend. 50% new oak.

Score: 93 Jane Anson, Decanter.com Maturity: 2027-2040 Date: 16 April 2019

This is a tight and linear red, showing dark berries and blueberries with cedar with flowers. Full-bodied and foursquare. Framed and focused.

Score: 93 - 94 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com Date: 11 April 2019

Gloria is once again fabulous. Brisk and vibrant, the 2018 has so much to offer. The 2018 is a bit more linear than other recent vintages (such as the 2016) but it nevertheless has a lot to offer. Bright red cherry, cedar, tobacco, spice and floral notes pulse with tremendous energy. The tannins need a few years in bottle to unwind, but there is so much to look forward to. The blend is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc. Tasted four times.

Score: 91 - 94 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Date: 01 April 2019

There's lots here, with raspberry, blackberry, currant and blueberry fruit all playing a role, along with lively briar and licorice snap notes. An apple wood frame keeps the elements in line.

Score: 93 - 96 James Molesworth, Wine Spectator Date: 01 April 2019