2005 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste Pauillac Bordeaux France Wine Tasting Note
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2005
Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste (Pauillac)
Clearly the best value in Pauillac today, this is classic in all the right ways. Expressive, yet stoic, the wine is full-bodied, concentrated, tannic and filled with tobacco-drenched creme de cassis, red plums, cedar, wet earth, cigar wrapper and forest leaf. Youthful, fresh and still waiting for its prime time window, two hours of decanting or 3-4 years in the cellar will do the trick. 8,162 Views Tasted Jun 26, 2021This has really softened and come around over the past few years. The tannins are austere but soft. The cassis and cherry notes are expressive, open and inviting. The palate enjoys a concentrated layer of fruits, cedar, earth and tobacco, finishing with bright, ripe, red fruits. With 2 hours of air, the wine is starting to show quite well. By 2020. this should be on fire! 9,057 Views Tasted Feb 4, 2019Forest floor, leaf, cedar chest, spice, cassis, tobacco and blackberry create the nose. On the palate, the tannins are refined. The wine is starting to soften and offer the right amount of tension balancing ripe fruit and freshness to make this a real treat. If you like your wines young, you can drink this now. But I’m waiting at least another 5 years or more to start opening my bottles. 11,209 Views Tasted Jun 28, 2015Wow, this just keeps better and better. Offering a boatload of fresh, ripe berries, tobacco, truffle, cedar chest, tobacco, espresso and blackberry notes, the wine really delivers the goods. The finish is long, clean, intense and pure. 2 hours of air and it hit the spot. 11,302 Views Tasted Sep 24, 2014This is deep ruby with purple accents. Dark berries, oak and cassis strut their stuff in the nose. This concentrated, deep, full bodied wine is in the process of closing down. In the mouth, a blast of licorice tinged, blackberries with polished tannins is found in the long finish. 19,183 Views Tasted Jun 20, 2009 |
When to Drink Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time
Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste needs time in the cellar before it is ready to drink. Young vintages can be decanted for at least 2-4 hours, give or take. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume.
Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment. Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste is usually better with at least 12-20 years of bottle age. Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage character. Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste should offer its best drinking and reach peak maturity between 12-35 years of age after the vintage.
Serving Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste with Wine and Food Pairings
Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift.
Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste is best paired with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes. Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste is also good when matched with Asian dishes, rich fish courses like tuna, mushrooms, pasta and a myriad of hard and soft cheeses.
Grand Puy Lacoste is a classic, age-worthy, style of Pauillac. It's a full-bodied, tannic, concentrated Bordeaux wine that ages well. This Bordeaux wine offers cassis, cedar, tobacco, and truffle scents and a juicy mouth full of flavor
Interestingly, the wine became one of the first popular, non First Growth Bordeaux brands to sell in China and in other countries in Asia as well.
In part, their initial success in China had to do with the last word for the name of the chateau, Lacoste. The name Lacoste gave a memorable nickname to Grand Puy Lacoste, which was soon called the alligator wine in China, due to the name being the same as the famous sports clothing designer, with the crocodile logo.
The wine of Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste has not always been consistent. But clearly, in some vintages, like 1982 and 1990, the wine can be as good as the Super Seconds. However, the estate has really been on a roll starting with the 2000 vintage. 2009, followed by an even better 2010 Grand Puy Lacoste are really great wines. In fact, those 2 years could be the two best vintages ever produced at Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste!
If you ever get the chance to visit this beautiful property do not miss the stunning gardens, a lake with swans, and greenery behind the house. And be sure to ask about the 2 full-sized, plastic cows near the lake.