1990 Grand Puy Lacoste
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The 1990 Grand-Puy-Lacoste just didn't perform on the night of the 1990 dinner in London, but I was fortunate to share another in Stellenbosch a few weeks later. Black fruit, sage and light liquorice scents, with lovely delineation that builds nicely in the glass. Gentle grip, a pinch of white pepper on the finish, still quite backward, this Pauillac has mellowed in recent years to form a quite exquisite GPL. Tasted at Fat Butcher restaurant in Stellenbosch.
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The 1990 Grand-Puy-Lacoste is a vintage that I drank regularly. It's always backward and compelling. I used to wonder whether it would ever come around. It has. This has a mesmerizing bouquet with black fruit, graphite, licorice and violet aromas. It just ratchets up through the gears with aeration. The palate is surfeit with sapid black fruit tones, slightly granular in texture and armed with firm backbone. Plenty of tobacco notes lace the finish. You know, for a 1990, it remains remarkably backward. This is a Pauillac aging at a glacial pace. Tasted at the WIMPS X-mas lunch at La Trompette.
A strikingly successful wine at 31 years old, from one of the great Cabernet Sauvignon vintages, requiring patience for the first decade but proving impressively long-lasting. Bilberry, loganberry and cassis fruits all very much still in play, set against smoked, grilled earth, flint and pencil lead nuances. A classic Pauillac, essence of Grand Puy Lacoste. Harvest September 17 to October 5, exact blend not recorded. 50% new oak for ageing.
About the producer
In 1978 the Borie family took over Grand-Puy-Lacoste and Xavier Borie has been making exceptional wines here ever since. With 58 hectares of vines around the château, this is a wine with real Pauillac style.