Château Grand Puy Lacoste, 5ème Cru Classé, Pauillac, 2012
Tasting at Grand Puy Lacoste with Xavier Borie is always a privilege and an education. It was back to Latin class this year. The fiche technique explains that 'Puy' comes from the Latin word for podium, meaning hill, which described the Chateau's position on top of the gravel croupes overlooking Pauillac. It is these deep gravel hills that give GPL its classical character. Crafted from 76% Cabernet Sauvignon and 24% Merlot, the 2012 possesses a beautiful perfume: complex, floral, with notes of crème de cassis, raspberry pip and toast. There is lovely poise and balance; a wine of grace and charm with an effortless dark berry core of fruit, stoney minerality and beautifully chiselled tannins. This will be one of the must buy wines from 2012.
critic reviews
The 2012 Grand-Puy-Lacoste is medium to deep garnet colored. It slowly emerges from the glass with fragrant notes of potpourri, spice cake, and fallen leaves over a core of warm cassis and stewed plums. The medium-bodied palate is tightly knit, with loads of savory nuances complementing the black fruits and a firm, grainy frame, finishing on a lingering mineral note. This is a classic!
The 2012 Grand-Puy-Lacoste has an impressive cassis-tinged bouquet with fresh tobacco and graphite infused black fruit that are very well focused and neatly integrated with the oak. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, a keen thread of acidity, finely proportioned with a vibrant graphite-infused finish. One of the standout Left Bank wines of the vintage. Tasted twice at Bordeaux Index's Ten Year-On tasting and blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting.
Stands out in the lineup, violet-ringed in colour (where many have softened to a gentle ruby at this point). A kick of cloves and ripped blackberry fruits on the aromatics, studded with violet flowers. Less depth through the mid palate that you find in Grand Puy Lacoste in the biggest years, but there are still muscular tannins and grip, and a sense of pushing forwards towards pleasure. Plenty of Pauillac signature, one to recommend and can begun to be opened from now. Harvest October 3 to 16, 75% new oak for ageing.