Description
Chateau Laroque, with its mighty 12th century tower, is still a most imposing defensive stronghold looming over the St. Emilion area. Located to the south of the village of Saint-Christophe-des-Bardes, it is built on a plateau of limestone rock, from which the estate took its name.
Once the cellars were restored in the 19th century by Maurice Dufaure de Rochefort, he turned his focus solely on vine-growing. After the devastating phylloxera epidemic in the 1860s, it wasn’t until the estate and its wines were given a new lease of life in 1935 thanks to the unrelenting work of its new owners: the Beaumartin family.
Over the decades that followed, and with the appointment of estate manager Bruno Sainson, Chateau Laroque reclaimed its identity for quality/value, and emerged as one of the finest growths in St. Emilion with 150 acres under vine, and rising to the rank of Grand Cru Classé in 1996.
The Beaumartin family brought in David Suire in 2015 to take over the management of the wine estate from Bruno Sainson. A new chapter has thus begun in the history of this majestic property. The results are most evident in the estate’s superb 2022 and 2023 vintages.
A blend of 99% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc. Aged 16-18 months in 50% new French oak barrel and large foudres. Drinking great now! Best 2030-2045. Alcohol 14.15%. Fragrant notes of red and black plums, crushed rocks, chalk, tobacco, violet, and subtle smoke. On the palate medium-bodied, structured, and precise with vibrant red/black fruit (raspberry, black cherry, cassis), crisp acidity, fine-grained/silky tannins, and a signature limestone-driven, saline, graphite finish.
“classy, elegant and polished. A wine of total understatement and class, Laroque sizzles with all of the tension that is such a signature of the limestone parcels.” – Antonio Galloni, Vinous
“Clearly one of the new superstars in the appellation” Jeb Dunnuck
“David Suire, Nicolas Thienpont’s longtime right-hand man at the likes of Pavie Macquin and Larcis-Ducasse, is resurrecting one of Saint-Émilion’s sleeping giants in the form of Château Laroque” William Kelley, Wine Advocate