#232 Gruaud Larose 1995 & 2002

I like the wines from Chateau Gruaud Larose.  I've tried numerous vintages of it, but for some reason have rarely compared vintages of this wine.  So, after pulling the cork of a bottle of 1995 and 2002, this is what I found out.

The 1995 had lovely soft, cherry fruit with fresh raspberries, cherry and eucalyptus and then some boot polish came through some plum aromas.  The palate was soft, a lovely texture, and a bit of spice with leathery tannins.  Liquorice flavours, cocoa and cherry stone throughout.  The palate was long, inviting and very tasty.  Still needs a bit of time. 8.5/10

The 2002 couldn't have been more different.  Certainly, there was the Gruaud style, but this was actually quite stinky.  There was sweet fruit on the nose, loads of herbs and more cherries and plums.  The palate was nice, but had a hole where the fruit should have been.  There was the leather and cocoa that the 1995 had, there was also a bundle of tannin, but the fruit was very subtle in comparison, and that revealed the alcohol, which became a bit unpleasent.  It is not a bad wine, just a wine from a bad year, but why Parker gave this 90 points escapes me!  7/10