Deep garnet colored, the 2010 Grand-Puy-Ducasse gives up notes of blackcurrant pastilles, prunes and fruitcake with wafts of espresso and oolong tea. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has very good fruit concentration, with a firm, grainy texture and seamless freshness, finishing long and earthy. Drink 2020-2039.
This blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot is an up-front, seductively styled Pauillac (one of the more forward and evolved wines from this appellation in 2010). Deep purple, with exceptionally subtle texture and oodles of cassis fruit as well as hints of mocha and white chocolate, it is an elegant wine, but the overall impression is one of considerable flesh, fat and succulence. It will be hard to resist now, but can be cellared for another 15+ years.
A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, the Grand Puy Ducasse has a ripe, raspberry, redcurrant and wild strawberry bouquet, quite showy for a Pauillac but not close to the delineation of Grand Puy Lacoste (for example.) The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins, nicely balanced, not complex but a lot of fruité towards the supple finish. This is a very fine Grand Puy Ducasse for medium rather than long-term drinking. Tasted April 2011.
Blueberry, currants and blackberries on the nose and palate. Full body, with velvety tannins and a long finish. Very well done here.
16.5 Drink 2016-2025
Mid crimson. Some sweetness and purple fruits. Trying perhaps just a teensy bit too hard but this should certainly give pleasure. Just a little short after the sweet start.
Lots of lush, succulent cassis fruit, good meaty depth, fully flavoured, perhaps not the most complex. Drink 2017-27.
The recent resurrection and impressive quality emerging from Grand-Puy-Ducasse is obvious in their prodigious 2010. An inky/blue/purple color is followed by abundant notes of graphite, cassis and blueberry liqueur offered in an opaque, full-bodied, layered, structured wine. This prodigious Pauillac may be the finest wine ever produced at this estate, and is undeniably a sleeper of the vintage as it remains one of the finest values for a classified growth Pauillac. Give it 5-7 years of cellaring and drink it over the following 25+ years. Bravo!