2020 CHÂTEAU GRAND PUY LACOSTE 5ème Cru Classé Pauillac, Lea & Sandeman

CHÂTEAU GRAND PUY LACOSTE

2023 5ème Cru Classé Pauillac

Grapes Merlot, Cab Sauv
Colour Red
Origin France, Bordeaux
Sub-district Haut Médoc
Village Pauillac
Classification 5ème Cru Classé
ABV 13.5%

77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot: 75% new oak: 13.2% alc: 48 hl/ha: Harvested 11 – 28 September: 55% of the property made the Grand Vin. The second wine at GPL, Lacoste Borie, is a star, so my mind was racing when I moved to the Grand Vin. How would it differ? How could it stamp its authority on my palate in such a way that it soared above its ‘diminutive stablemate’? And then it arrived. My goodness, there is so much style and grace here, and it is delivered with unwavering intent and force. But this is not a heavy wine. It is a single-minded and extremely targeted creation, and the Cabernet heart is so classy and detailed that it shocks the palate with its purity and, ultimately, tenderness and refinement. Initially, the swarm of cassis and oak notes are carefully orchestrated, and they act with such momentum that you are at once subsumed by this wine. And then it leaves you completely calm and cool with its sublime tannins and pin sharp acidic full stop. This wine fuels one’s passions, making you think of great friends, great occasions, great dishes, great memories and it is wines like this that you need in this imaginary tableau. While Merlot appears to underperform in so many properties on the Left Bank, the 23% in this exquisite wine is Fonteyn to Cabernet’s Nureyev! Rating: 19+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (May 2024)


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We are in classic Grand Puy Lacoste territory here, great balance, good freshness, Pauillac typicity, less concentration than 2022, showing instead bright cassis and blackberry fruits, salted cracker edge, liquorice, graphite, spiced cocoa beans, and flashes of fresher redcurrants on the close of play. Great quality, and you can see the fine ageing potential stretching ahead. 75% new oak, rest one year old, around 60% of production in this 1st wine (this is similar each year, as here the vineyard footprint has not changed since 1855). Harvest September 11 to 28. Drinking range: 2030 - 2046 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (May 2024)

The 2023 Grand-Puy-Lacoste is powerful, reticent and shy, revealing notes of black cherry, gravel, scorched earth and licorice. It’s rich, ample and quite potent, marked by an intriguing mix of super-ripe Merlots and later-picked Cabernet. All of this fruit was picked before the September rain, so the tannins are a touch aggressive. Time in bottle should help this come together. Drinking range: 2033 - 2063 Rating: 92-94 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (May 2024)

This takes 58% of the crop, and the blend is 77% Cabernet Sauvignon and 23% Merlot, with a yield of 48 hl/ha. The picking here started on September 11th, a few days later than many, finishing on the 28th. Adorable aromatics here, with dark fruit wrapped in powdery and cedary oak, with layers of blackcurrant and damson, a much darker profile than I expected, touched with white peach and mint. This translates onto a palate of wild bramble, with a rich core of high-quality and powdery tannins which provide a charming grip, and with the fresh acidity of the vintage provides a fine layer of support for the fruit. Charming, with a relaxed medium-bodied texture, with a fine grip of tight, polished, velvety tannins, I can see this evolving well. It finishes long, with that deliciously ripe tannin gripping the finish, and a core of slowly fading fruit. Tasted twice. The alcohol is 13.2%. Rating: 92-94 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2024)

Château Grand Puy Lacoste

Pauillac Cinquième Cru 1855.

If there's an estate that can rival Lynch Bages for the crown of most over-performing 5th Growth, it would be Grand-Puy-Lacoste.

The "Grand Puy" is the low gravelly hill on which the vineyards sit. In 1750 a portion were sold to Pierre Ducasse and became, obviously, Château Grand Puy Ducasse while the rest, after a couple of name changes owing to inheritance by daughters, became Château Grand Puy Lacoste.

The Borie family bought into Grand Puy Lacoste in 1978 and began quite a renaissance for the property.

Just a few kilometres from the town of Pauillac, the vineyards of Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste total roughly 36 hectares (90 acres) with Cabernet Sauvignon making up 75% of the total plantings and the rest belonging to Merlot (20%) and Cabernet Franc (5%). Typical of the region, the vineyard consists of a deep gravel top soil on a limestone base.

Production is about 12,000 cases of wine in an average year. Fermentation takes place in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks, and then the wines are placed into oak barrels (50% new) for 18 months of aging.

This wine isn't currently part of a mixed case, but you can always browse our full selection of mixed cases here.
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