| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pauillac |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
Xavier Borie consistently makes one of the finest and most classic of all Pauillacs here. Frequently GPL is a match for the top names of Pauillac but is usually cheaper en primeur. Much of the fruit is used to make the second wine - Lacoste Borie. This is a a very popular Chateau at Farr Vintners - both with our customers and staff.
The 2016 Grand Puy-Lacoste has a clean, precise bouquet with nicely detailed blackberry, briar and tobacco aromas, touches of mint emerging with time, all utterly charming. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and a fine bead of acidity, conveying a sense of symmetry throughout and leading into a deft, quite persistent finish. This is very classy, and it should age with style. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting. 2023 - 2055
This is all about the finish with a sweet-tobacco, berry and light milk-chocolate character. Full body, very fine tannins and a juicy finish. Love the intensity and finesse at the end. Lots of energy. Could better the exquisite 2014.
The deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Grand-Puy-Lacoste gives up pure kirsch and red and black currants with violets and baking spices. Medium-bodied, firm and grainy, it's very expressive with good concentration and length. Drink date 2021-2039.
This has a spicy, almost toasted edge, perfectly balanced depth and a retraction of the tannins through the mid-palate that springs back again on the finish. This vintage sees the addition of 15 new small 80hl stainless steel vats in the cellar, allowing for more precision during fermentation. There is plenty of hidden power going on in this wine, with a tannin index of 79IPT, similar to the 2010. The silky tannins make this large-structured wine deceptive right now, but it is extremely well handled, particularly in the teasing out of mineral, wet stone touches flicking through the dark berry fruits. I expect it will close down a little more than some this year.
Tasted blind. Rich and savoury, even slightly toasty – immediately appealing nose. Perhaps not the most noble but very flashy.
Drink 2026 – 2048
Xavier Borie consistently makes one of the finest and most classic of all Pauillacs here. Frequently GPL is a match for the top names of Pauillac but is usually cheaper en primeur. Much of the fruit is used to make the second wine - Lacoste Borie. This is a a very popular Chateau at Farr Vintners - both with our customers and staff. The 2016 is a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon and 21% Merlot, which was harvested 28th September to 13th October. 60% of the production was deemed of high enough quality for the Grand Vin, and this selection shows. Deep in colour with spice black fruits, cedar and tobacco on the nose. There is an overlay of toasty, sweet new oak to the ripe core of cassis and black cherry fruit. The tannins build through the mid palate but due to their refinement they are seemless and provide a smooth, velveteen texture to the wine. Enduring black fruit is complemented by notes of cinnamon, cedar and allspice on the long, harmonised finish. A superb effort for the vintage.
The nose has a mix of rich black fruits the palate fleshy and supple concentrated black cherry and cassis the tannins firm discreet and integrated. Underlying mineral freshness balances bright at the back the finish is fragrant a hint of spice, stylish and long. 2025-41
It’s up against stiff competition, but this is my pick of the Pauillac Fifth Growths in 2016. It’s a perfumed, high-toned, structured red with savoury, fine-grained tannins, a core of piercing cassis and wet stone-like flavours and haunting sweetness. Bravo! 2024-38
The 2016 Grand-Puy-Lacoste has a superb, vibrant, tobacco-infused bouquet that soars from the glass; it is extremely well defined and classic, just as you expect from this Pauillac. The medium-bodied palate displays succulent tannin that hides the backbone supporting this wine. It is more approachable than the Grand Puy Lacoste of a decade ago, yet retains the essence of its terroir. This is one of the most elegant GPLs of recent years. Drink 2023-2055.
The 2016 Grand-Puy-Lacoste is a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon and 21% Merlot that matured in 75% new oak. It has 13.3% alcohol this year. It has an extraordinarily pure bouquet with blackberry, briary, touches of pencil shaving and cedar aromas--quintessential Grand-Puy-Lacoste, basically. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannin. Gone are the days when this Pauillac was as hard as nails for the first decade. The tannins are nowadays much finer and the acidity lends this tension and plenty of freshness. There is an effortless quality to this Pauillac with wonderful length and such finesse on the finish that you immediately want to go back and re-taste it. Like so many others, this improved with aeration, gaining ever more harmony and precision. What a brilliant wine. It is classic Pauillac to its core. 2024 - 2050.
Very dark crimson. Very ripe and fresh. Pretty glorious expression of the vintage on the nose. Slightly dry finish but really very energetic and may be a fairly good buy. Slightly dry on the end – very British claret!
Drink 2025-2040
