Grand Puy Lacoste 2020

The 2020 Grand-Puy-Lacoste is excellent, offering up aromas of cassis and plums mingled with pencil shavings, violets and loamy soil framed by a touch of creamy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, pure and fleshy, with lively acids, powdery tannins and good depth at the core, its supple, charming style belies considerable aging potential. It's a blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon and 24% Merlot. 2025 - 2050

Deep purple in the glass, this is a wine with a real sense of place. Graphite, blackcurrant and cedar come through on a focused nose. The palate is chiselled, with al dente tannins giving it bite and chew. The fruit is moreish, dark but tangy thanks to vibrant acidity. This is lip-smacking and delicious, with admirable restraint but power and presence. Excellent, likely worthy of a higher score once mature. Open from 10 years old.

This full-bodied red builds on the palate in a fantastic way with tight, compact tannins that grow and grow on the finish. Plenty of blackcurrant and graphite character and a flavorful finish. Same level as the excellent 2016.

The 2020 Grand-Puy-Lacoste has a deep garnet-purple color. It bounds from the glass with eager-to-please notes of crushed black plums, wild blueberries, and warm cassis, plus touches of violets, licorice, and wild sage. The medium-bodied palate is vibrant with crunchy black fruits and a grainy texture, finishing on a mineral note.

Enjoyable, powerful, concentrated, not the most generous of GPLs but they have captured the essence of Pauillac, and it's hard to resist. Sappy juicy finish, full of cassis, mint leaf and pencil lead along the way with a clear tightness to the tannic frame. A yield of 31hl/ha. 75% new oak for barrel ageing.

Drinking Window 2027 - 2046

The 2020 is a blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon and 24% Merlot, with a yield of 31hl/ha that will be aged in 75% new French oak. Yields are down 25% on last year due to few bunches of small berries in the vineyard. Deep ruby in colour. The nose is smoky, fleshy with plummy fruit and vibrant with cherry blossom. The palate is finely etched, with pure cherry fruit and a savoury, cool edge. The tannins add real crunch, coating the mouth but keeping the compact proportions of the wine harmonious. Superb poise through to a long finish.

76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot. Cask sample.
Bright crimson hue. Classic in form and constitution. Firm and stately on the nose with graphite and dark-fruit notes. Juicy and fresh on the palate, the tannins smooth and refined but driving behind. Long, linear and persistent. Should age gracefully. (JL)
Drink 2028 – 2045

(56% CS, 24% M; 31hl/ha; 75% new)
Black-red; a particularly refined and subtle “cassis-Cabernet” nose; medium-full, fresh to crisp in acidity, very fine in gently firm tannin; long, fresh, elegant, even, ripe red fruit in flavor, backed by subtle mineral impressions, long across the palate, refreshing, restrained, and with very fine tannin textures, of modest intensity and with excellent, subtly gravelly red-fruited length. Beautifully understated by comparison with many in this often somewhat “strong” vintage. A complete, restrained, classy Pauillac. 2026–40+.