Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Pauillac Cinquième Cru, 2016

Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Pauillac Cinquième Cru, 2016

  • icon-type Type

    Red

  • icon-year Year

    2016

  • icon-style Style

    Dry

  • icon-country Country

    France

  • icon-alcohollevel Alcohol level

    13.5%

  • icon-grapevariety Grape variety
    Cabernet Sauvignon 75%, Merlot 20%, Cabernet Franc 5%
  • Rating

    JS 97

Grand-Puy-Lacoste 2016 is an example once again of a vintage marked by a significant proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in the assemblage - 79%, which demonstrates the tremendous potential of its terroir.

The wine has a deep, bright crimson colour. There are aromas of intense black fruit which explode on the nose, underlining the character of perfectly ripe grapes whilst retaining an attractive mineral freshness. The whole is floral with a touch of spiciness. On the palate, there is a crescendo of flavours, suave, dense and complex. 2016 has fine balance and freshness coupled with a long finish sustained by ripe tannins.

Once more, we find in this fine vintage the expression of the great terroir of Grand-Puy-Lacoste which underlines all its richness, complexity and elegance. It will take its place without any doubt among the great successes of the property thus completing a fine trilogy of vintages.

About Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste

One of the oldest estates in the Médoc

The history of Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste is fascinating in many ways. It is a family saga going back to the 16th century.

The name Grand-Puy, already mentioned in documents from the Middle Ages, comes from the ancient term "puy” which means "hillock, small height”. True to its name, the vineyard sits on outcrops with a terroir similar to that of the Médoc's first growths. From Since the 16th century the property remained attached to a single family from generation to generation, in a direct line through marriage until 1920, before connecting with another family in 1978—the Borie.

Grand-Puy-Lacoste's listing in the 1855 classification placed it among the "elite” of Bordeaux wines.

"The 1855 classification catalogues those masterworks of winemaking whose renown and excellence span the years, resisting the effects of passing fashion and human influence. That is why for 15o years this classification has remained the unique, historic, and official reference of the world's greatest wines.” Council of Médoc Wines.

After the classification, owners of a number of classed-growths enlarged their estates by annexing the vines of neighbouring Cru Bourgeois properties. The dimensions of Grand-Puy-Lacoste have remained strictly unchanged, an especially rare occurrence.

The unchanging classification of 1855 makes these classed growths unlike any other vineyards: they belong to the heritage of France and—in a larger sense—to the universal heritage of wine. This heritage is both tangible and spiritual, guiding each château owner to fulfil an overriding duty: to preserve each property's high reputation and carry it into the future.

Grape variety
Cabernet Franc

Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire's Chinon. In addition to being used in blends and produced as a varietal in Canada and the United States, it is sometimes made into ice wine in those regions.

Cabernet Franc is lighter than Cabernet Sauvignon, making a bright pale red wine that contributes finesse and lends a peppery perfume to blends with more robust grapes. Depending on the growing region and style of wine, additional aromas can include tobacco, raspberry, bell pepper, cassis, and violets.

Records of Cabernet Franc in Bordeaux go back to the end of the 18th century, although it was planted in Loire long before that time. DNA analysis indicates that Cabernet Franc is one of two parents of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Carménère.

Cabernet Franc shares many of the same phenolic and aroma compounds as Cabernet Sauvignon but with some noticeable differences. Cabernet Franc tends to be more lightly pigmented and produces wines with the same level of intensity and richness. Cabernet Franc tends to have a more pronounced perfume with notes of raspberries, blackcurrants, violets and graphite. It is often characterised by a green, vegetal strike that can range from leaves to green bell peppers. It has slightly less tannins than Cabernet Sauvignon and tends to produce a wine with a smoother mouthfeel. New World examples of Cabernet Franc tend to emphasise the fruit more and may delay harvesting the grapes to try to minimise the green leafy notes.

Alternative Names: Bordo, Bouchet, Bouchy, Breton, Cabernet Franco, Cabernet Frank

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognised red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon became internationally recognised through its prominence in Bordeaux wines where it is often blended with Merlot and Cabernet Franc. From France and Spain, the grape spread across Europe and to the New World where it found new homes in places like California's Santa Cruz Mountains, Paso Robles, Napa Valley, New Zealand's Hawkes Bay, South Africa's Stellenbosch region, Australia's Margaret River and Coonawarra regions, and Chile's Maipo Valley and Colchagua. For most of the 20th century, it was the world's most widely planted premium red wine grape until it was surpassed by Merlot in the 1990. However, by 2015, Cabernet Sauvignon had once again become the most widely planted wine grape.

Despite its prominence in the industry, the grape is a relatively new variety, the product of a chance crossing between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc during the 17th century in southwestern France. Its popularity is often attributed to its ease of cultivation - the grapes have thick skins and the vines a re hardy and naturally low yielding, budding late to avoid frost and resistant to viticultural hazards such as rot and insects - and to its consistent presentation of structure and flavours which express the typical character ("typicity") of the variety. Familiarity and ease of pronunciation have helped to sell Cabernet Sauvignon wines to consumers, even when from unfamiliar wine regions.

The classic profile of Cabernet Sauvignon tends to be full-bodied wines with high tannins and noticeable acidity that contributes to the wine's aging potential. In cooler climates, Cabernet Sauvignon tends to produce wines with blackcurrant notes that can be accompanied by green bell pepper notes, mint and cedar which will all become more pronounced as the wine ages. In more moderate climates the blackcurrant notes are often seen with black cherry and black olive notes while in very hot climates the currant flavours can veer towards the over-ripe and "jammy" side. In parts of Australia, particularly the Coonawarra wine region of South Australia, Cabernet Sauvignon wines tend to have a characteristic eucalyptus or menthol notes.

The style of Cabernet Sauvignon is strongly influenced by the ripeness of the grapes at harvest. When more on the unripe side, the grapes are high in pyrazines and will exhibit pronounced green bell peppers and vegetal flavours. When harvested overripe the wines can taste jammy and may have aromas of stewed blackcurrants. Some winemakers choose to harvest their grapes at different ripeness levels in order to incorporate these different elements and potentially add some layer of complexity to the wine. When Cabernet Sauvignon is young, the wines typically exhibit strong fruit flavours of black cherries and plum. The aroma of blackcurrants is one of the most distinctive and characteristic element of Cabernet Sauvignon that is present in virtually every style of the wine across the globe. Styles from various regions and producers may also have aromas of eucalyptus, mint and tobacco. As the wines age they can sometimes develop aromas associated with cedar, cigar boxes and pencil shavings. In general New World examples have more pronounced fruity notes while Old World wines can be more austere with heightened earthy notes.

Alternative Names: Bidure, Bouche, Bordo, Bouchet, Burdeos Tinto, Lafite, Vidure

Merlot

Merlot is a dark blue-coloured wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to be a diminutive of merle, the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the colour of the grape. Its softness and "fleshiness", combined with its earlier ripening, makes Merlot a popular grape for blending with the sterner, later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, which tends to be higher in tannin.

Along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Shiraz Cabernet, Malbec and Petit Verdot, Merlot is one of the primary grapes used in Bordeaux wine, and it is the most widely planted grape in the Bordeaux wine regions. Merlot is also one of the most popular red wine varietals in many markets. This flexibility has helped to make it one of the world's most planted grape varieties. As of 2004, Merlot was estimated to be the third most grown variety at 260,000 hectares (640,000 acres) globally. The area planted to Merlot has continued to increase, with 266,000 hectares (660,000 acres) in 2015.

While Merlot is made across the globe, there tend to be two main styles. The "International style" favoured by many New World wine regions tends to emphasise late harvesting to gain physiological ripeness and produce inky, purple coloured wines that are full in body with high alcohol and lush, velvety tannins with intense, plum and blackberry fruit. While this international style is practiced by many Bordeaux wine producers, the traditional "Bordeaux style" of Merlot involves harvesting Merlot earlier to maintain acidity and producing more medium-bodied wines with moderate alcohol levels that have fresh, red fruit flavours (raspberries, strawberries) and potentially leafy, vegetal notes.

As a varietal wine, Merlot can make soft, velvety wines with plum flavours. While Merlot wines tend to mature faster than Cabernet Sauvignon, some examples can continue to develop in the bottle for decades. There are three main styles of Merlot - a soft, fruity, smooth wine with very little tannins; a fruity wine with more tannic structure; and, finally, a brawny, highly tannic style made in the profile of Cabernet Sauvignon. Some of the fruit notes commonly associated with Merlot include cassis, black and red cherries, blackberry, blueberry, boysenberry, mulberry, olallieberry and plum. Vegetable and earthy notes include black and green olives, cola nut, bell pepper, fennel, humus, leather, mushrooms, rhubarb and tobacco. Floral and herbal notes commonly associated with Merlot include green and black tea, eucalyptus, laurel, mint, oregano, pine, rosemary, sage, sarsaparilla and thyme. When Merlot has spent significant time in oak, the wine may show notes of caramel, chocolate, coconut, coffee bean, dill weed, mocha, molasses, smoke, vanilla and walnut.

Alternative Names: Alicante, Alicante Noir, Bégney, Bidal, Bidalhe, Bigney, Bigney rouge, Bini, Bini Ruzh, Bioney, Black Alicante, Bordeleza belcha, Crabutet, Crabutet Noir, Crabutet Noir merlau, Hebigney, Higney, Higney rouge, Langon, Lecchumskij, Médoc Noir, Merlau, Merlaut, Merlaut Noir, Merle, Merle Petite, Merleau, Merlô, Merlot Noir, Merlot black, Merlot blauer, Merlot crni, Merlot nero, Merlott, Merlou, Odzalesi, Odzhaleshi, Odzhaleshi Legkhumskii, Petit Merle, Picard, Pikard, Plan medre, Planet Medok, Plant du Médoc, Plant Médoc, Saint-Macaire, Same de la Canan, Same dou Flaube, Sème de la Canau, Sème Dou Flube, Semilhon rouge, Semilhoum rouge, Semilhoun rouge, Sémillon rouge, Sud des Graves, Vidal, Vini Ticinesi, Vitrai and Vitraille

About Pauillac

Pauillac, a commune located between Saint-Estèphe and Saint-Julien on Bordeaux's Médoc peninsula, is home to some of the world's most famous and expensive red wines , made predominantly from the Cabernet Sauvignon grape variety, which is well suited to the free-draining gravel soils found in Pauillac's vineyards. In addition to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Carmenère, Petit Verdot and Malbec are also permitted for use under the Pauillac appellation laws.

The stellar reputation of Pauillac wines is based not only on their quality, but on their success in international fine wine markets. Three of the top five châteaux in the 1855 Médoc Classification (a ranking of Bordeaux's best wine-producing properties) are located here; Mouton Rothschild, Lafite Rothschild and Château Latour.

Overall, the terroir of Pauillac varies more than might be expected in an area of only 23 square kilometres (9 square miles), where the land near the banks of the Gironde estuary with the best vineyard sites rises and falls by a maximum of 30 meters (100ft). Over hundreds of vintages, the châteaux and their winemakers have become very skilled at emphasising the individuality of their vineyards, and there is general agreement that the styles of the top three châteaux are discernibly different. Overall, however, there is still an identifiable Pauillac wine style: full, rich, and characterised by the classic cassis-and-cedarwood aromas of oak-aged Cabernet Sauvignon.

The appellation laws for Pauillac specify that all land within the Pauillac commune boundaries qualifies for the title, unless composed of sandy, alluvial or impermeable soils. Certain plots in neighbouring Saint-Julien and Saint-Estèphe also qualify for the title, as do a handful in Cissac and Saint-Saveur.

Regular price $938.00

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