Lacoste Borie, Pauillac, 2019
Xavier Borie’s 2019 clearly enjoys the benefit of 5 years bottle age and offers up a smorgasbord of red and black fruit – raspberry, blackcurrant and cassis – an enigmatic floraity and a modicum of oak spice with hints of liquorice, graphite, cigar box and dried leaves.
critic reviews
The 2019 Lacoste-Borie is a wine of immense charm. Wafting from the glass with aromas of cassis, licorice and sweet spices, loamy soil and cigar wrapper, it’s medium to full-bodied, fleshy and seamless, with ripe tannins, succulent acids and a round, giving profile.
The 2019 Lacoste-Borie was impressive as a barrel sample sent to my home last spring. Now in bottle, it has a vivacious, quite floral, almost Margaux-like bouquet that bursts from the glass, featuring raspberry, rooibos and black currant aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with good concentration, a little spicier than I remember and a little softer in the finish, yet with good length and admirable harmony. It should drink nicely after a couple of years. 14.3% alcohol.
Smoke and tar come in measured waves, along with fennel, tobacco and blackberry. Traces of the summer heat, this is enjoyable but struggles to maintain momentum against the tannic bite on the finish.