Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste Pauillac 2019

Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste is a classic Pauillac estate and a Cinquième Cru Classé in the 1855 classification, owned by the Borie family since 1978. The 90 hectare property has about 60 hectares under vine in one contiguous block around the château, with an average vine age of 38 years. Its reputation rests on a particularly fine terroir of deep gravelly rises, or croupes, that drain exceptionally well and retain heat, making them especially suited to cabernet sauvignon.

The estate practices sustainable viticulture, with treatments reduced by half over the past two decades and no insecticides used in the last ten years. The vineyard is worked mechanically rather than with herbicides, with green harvesting and leaf thinning used when needed to control yields and encourage even ripening. Grapes are picked entirely by hand and undergo two rounds of sorting, both before and after destemming. The vineyard itself is planted 75% cabernet sauvignon, 20% merlot and 5% cabernet franc, although the grand vin is typically even more heavily weighted toward cabernet sauvignon.

The 2019 is an especially cabernet driven vintage, with a final blend of 83% cabernet sauvignon and 17% merlot. The grapes were harvested from September 20 through October 4 following a warm, dry growing season, with some September rain helping the grapes reach full maturity while preserving freshness. Fermentation takes place in temperature controlled vats with gentle extraction, followed by roughly three weeks of maceration and malolactic fermentation.

The wine is aged for 16 to 18 months in fine grained French oak, with approximately 75% new barrels for the 2019. Despite the substantial oak component, the wine is fundamentally about Pauillac terroir: concentrated black fruit, cassis and cherry alongside violet, spice, graphite and the classic savory, mineral character of gravel grown cabernet. The 2019 has impressive density and structure but also the freshness and finely grained tannins that give Grand-Puy-Lacoste its reputation for elegance rather than sheer power.