CHÂTEAU GRAND PUY LACOSTE
2014 5ème Cru Classé Pauillac
82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot. Bright and crunchily fresh on the nose - this is gorgeously appetising form the off. Weight of quite firm quite classic fruit builds quickly in the mid palate. There is a great rich, complex core of dark fruit some damson jam, figs, but not flabby - this remains firm and lithe. Good Pauillac shape, nice shoulders and good drive of spicy fruit lifts the long finish. Rating: 93 L&S (Apr 2015)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2014 Grand-Puy-Lacoste is one of my favorite wines from the Left Bank in this vintage. Bright and vivacious blackberry, cedar and graphite scents soar from the glass with real purpose. Wonderful delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, quite tensile with ample depth. It has matured since I last tasted it four years ago. It is very fresh and has a saline finish. Recommended. Tasted at the Bordeaux Index 10-Year-On tasting. N.B. Two bottles tasted blind at Southwold showed oxidation on the first. Drinking range: 2024 - 2050 Rating: 95 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Mar 2024)
Dark cassis fruit, with pencil lead, flint and crushed mint leaf, reserved and savoury and full of understated pleasure. This is starting to tip towards tertiary as the drinking window opens, but GPL is a wine that keeps delivering over decades, and this Cabernet dominant fruit isn't going anywhere. Sleek and finessed, and just a little bit subdued. 75% new oak. Harvest September 25 to October 9, Eric Boissnot consultant. Drinking range: 2024 - 2040 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, Decanter (Feb 2024)
A vintage that gave its best side in Pauillac and St Estèphe, equal in many ways to the 2015 that followed, and better in some cases (but not always; the 2015 even in these two appellations is often the one to choose). Rich ruby colour, with depth and silkiness to the tannins. Think of this like a mini 2016 - all the same glorious savoury but concentrated fruits, the same graphite, pencil lead and flint that speaks of the appellation, but will be ready to drink just a little sooner, and not quite the same depths. Brilliant, with a juicy slate signoff. 75% new oak. September 25 to October 9. Drinking range: 2024 - 2040 Rating: 95 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (Oct 2021)
The 2014 Grand-Puy Lacoste has a bouquet with blackberry, boysenberry, mint and graphite, well defined and focused. It does not have to try too hard to give so much pleasure. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, very crisp acidity, beautifully proportioned with a veneer of top quality new oak that will need three or four years to be fully subsumed. But the purity and elegance of this Pauillac cannot be denied – a quite brilliant contribution to the 2014 vintage. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. Drinking range: 2022 - 2050 Rating: 95 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Mar 2018)
Rather elegant. Not flashy and not that concentrated but beautifully balanced. Already showing its charms even though the medium body and medium charge of tannins should preserve it for a good long life. Drinking range: 2024 - 2044 Rating: 17.5 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Feb 2018)
The 2014 Grand Puy Lacoste is superb. Dark, dense and inviting, the 2014 possesses remarkable depth and richness. Black cherry, plum, smoke, licorice and tobacco all develop in the glass, but it is the overall feel that is most impressive. Silky, polished tannins nicely balance the wine's overt personality. In short, the 2014 has it all. Don't miss it. This is a knockout wine from proprietor François-Xavier Borie. Drinking range: 2020 - 2039 Rating: 95 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2017)
A sleek, graphite-fueled version, with ample cassis and black cherry fruit racing along, picking up light tobacco, anise and bramble notes along the way. The fruit is vivid, presenting pleasant coiledup energy. Should age nicely. Drinking range: 2020 - 2030 Rating: 93 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Jan 2017)
The Château Grand Puy Lacoste 2014 is a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18% Merlot between 25 September and 9 October at 33 hectoliter per hectare. The aromatics are not as immediate as the Haut-Batailley and demand more coaxing from the glass, but that comes with the territory. It unfurls with each swirl, black fruits at first, then GPL’s trademark, graphite and gravel scents storm into the room. Leaving the glass aside for 10 minutes there is a distant tang of shucked oyster shells. The palate is understated on the entry. This is not a powerhouse Grand-Puy-Lacoste, rather one that emphasizes finesse and precision. It is almost unerringly low-key and yet there is an enormous length already in place. As usual, I suspect that its secrets (or at least some of them) will be unlocked during its barrel maturation. One of the appellation's most cerebral offerings. Drinking range: 2020 - 2045 Rating: 93-95 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2015)
Vibrant and pulsating in the glass, the 2014 Grand Puy Lacoste impresses for its superb overall balance. The flavors are bright and beautifully expressive, with sweet floral notes woven throughout that give the wine much of its nuance, while the seamless, silky tannins speak to finesse. Even with all of its explosive energy, the 2014 is not an obvious or huge wine; rather it is a Pauillac that draws the taster in with its multiple shades of dimension. A wine of true class and pedigree, the Grand Puy Lacoste is shaping up to be a real gem in this vintage. Tasted twice. Rating: 92-95 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2015)
82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot. A bit richer than the Haut-Batailley. Something floral on the nose. Polished and straightforward though a little denser and longer term than its stablemate Haut Batailley. Very round and a sort of cross between Pauillac and Pomerol. In fact many of these Pauillacs are richer than many of the Pomerols in 2014. Very solid. Needs lots of time with all that tannin but very honest and a little more refined than the Pontet-Canet. Great minerally finish and lovely purity. Drinking range: 2025 - 2040 Rating: 17++ Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2015)
The nose has a strong black fruit character the start of the palate quite light and fresh. Sweeter and richer in the middle black cherry and cassis but the fresh fruit at the back lightens and balances and bring out fragrances on the finish. Drinking range: 2026 - 2036 Rating: 89-92 Derek Smedley MW, www.dereksmedleymw.co.uk (Apr 2015)
The Borie family told me that they are a little exasperated that I keep talking about the value that this Pauillac fifth growth offers, to the exclusion of its other qualities, but it's true. This is a very feminine Pauillac, all grace and poise rather than muscle, with silky perfume and impressive depth of flavour. (One of Tim's Top 10 Value Reds.) Drinking range: 2020 - 2030 Rating: 94 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2015)
Rock-solid, with a gutsy core of plum, black currant, steeped fig and melted licorice snap, all carried by a gorgeous, charcoal-edged spine. Long, and loaded with fruit and grip. As solid as they come. Rating: 93-96 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2015)
This is a wine with a dense center, wonderful fruit, polished and refined tannins and a persistent finish. Full-bodied, long and intense. Beautiful pure cabernet character. Real wine. 82% cabernet sauvignon and 18% merlot. Higher percentage of cabernet than normal. Rating: 93-94 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Mar 2015)
Château Grand Puy Lacoste
Pauillac Cinquième Cru 1855.
If there's an estate that can rival Lynch Bages for the crown of most over-performing 5th Growth, it would be Grand-Puy-Lacoste.
The "Grand Puy" is the low gravelly hill on which the vineyards sit. In 1750 a portion were sold to Pierre Ducasse and became, obviously, Château Grand Puy Ducasse while the rest, after a couple of name changes owing to inheritance by daughters, became Château Grand Puy Lacoste.
The Borie family bought into Grand Puy Lacoste in 1978 and began quite a renaissance for the property.
Just a few kilometres from the town of Pauillac, the vineyards of Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste total roughly 36 hectares (90 acres) with Cabernet Sauvignon making up 75% of the total plantings and the rest belonging to Merlot (20%) and Cabernet Franc (5%). Typical of the region, the vineyard consists of a deep gravel top soil on a limestone base.
Production is about 12,000 cases of wine in an average year. Fermentation takes place in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks, and then the wines are placed into oak barrels (50% new) for 18 months of aging.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.