Possessing some of the most coveted terroir in the Médoc, Château Gruaud Larose had not lived up to its potential for many years. It’s come to be known as a sturdy work-horse claret of rugged design, with some vintages verging on the skeletal and rustic (Bretty) side. What the Gruaud and Larose families started as…

“I was born and raised at Ducru-Beaucaillou,” Bruno Borie starts. I’m attending a twentieth-anniversary tasting at the Château. Its larger-than-life owner has opened twenty bottles for us to taste—every vintage produced from 2003, the year he took over management of the estate. A small group of Bordeaux negociants and courtiers also participate in the tasting,…