2013 Grand Puy Lacoste
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Tasting notes
80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot. 31 hl/ha. Red with a lighter rim. Open aromatically with black-olive and blackcurrant notes. Round and sweet-fruited on the palate with light but fine tannins. Lacks density and complexity but harmonious and drinking well now. (JL)
Critic scores
Average Score
Neal Martin
Richard Hemming MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
The 2013 Grand-Puy-Lacoste has a slightly herbaceous, tertiary nose, though there is freshness here and delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with assertive tannins, but it feels a bit forced, and there is some discombobulating greenness on the finish that jars on the aftertaste. This is one of my favorite estates in Pauillac, but this seems to have stumbled through the challenging growing season. Tasted at Bordeaux Index's 10-Year On tasting.
Oyster shells on the nose (a Broadbent tasting note!). Sweet start and decent balance with some attack. Not forceful but everything is in the right proportion. One to head for, especially in view of the price. (JR)
Plenty of tannic grip and it is clear this delivers Pauillac character in the form and shape of the tannins. Not the compelling depths of the best years of GPL, but there is life here, with charcoal, campfire, smoked earth, brambled black fruits and edges of mint. 70% new oak.
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.