2018 Gloria
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
Mint leaf, marzipan, fennel, smoked earth, fig, freshly grated black truffle, and a ton of cassis fruit. This is young but complex, with a bright future. The only wine in the vertical that is above 14% in alcohol, a reflection of the vintage, and a reminder in fact of just how balanced and old school St Julien is almost every year. Good stuff, full of life. 40% new oak. Harvest September 20 to October 1. Remi di Constanzo technical director.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2018 Gloria is a strong effort in this lush, fruit-driven Bordeaux vintage. Offering up aromas of blackberries, blackcurrants and licorice, it's medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy, with an ample core of fruit, ripe acids and sweet tannins. Purists will gravitate to the 2019 and 2016, but this demonstrative, hedonistic 2018 can already be approached with pleasure.
Tasted blind. Not very concentrated colour. Sweet and sour. Not the most concentrated wine. Nor the ripest. Correct rather than thrilling. Would not disappoint a bordeaux fan though. (JR)
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.
About the producer
The modest Ch. Gloria was only created in the 1940s, when Henri Martin – a cooper – purchased some vines. With parcels dotted in amongst the region’s Classed Growths, it produces impressive wines. Today it's managed by Vanessa and Jean Triaud (Henri Martin’s granddaughter and grandson-in-law).