LACOSTE BORIE
2018 du Château Grand Puy Lacoste Pauillac
If you want a good dinner party Pauillac that will be delicious in five year's time then this is it. The dark fruit is just so juicy and moreish. It flows effortlessly all the way onto a finish cloaked in signature Pauillac structure. There's not a hint of excess. This is very sophisticated claret and one of the many fabulous second wines from the top Left Bank estates. Drinking range: 2023 - 2030L&S (Apr 2019)
* 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 2018 Lacoste-Borie was picked September 21 to October 5 at 44hl/ha. It has a pleasant bouquet of blackberry, iodine and violet aromas, perhaps needing just a little more delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with a graphite-tinged entry. Supple and quite approachable, this is well-balanced with good acidity and some oakiness on the finish, though this is more likely due to racking several days previous to my visit. Fine, though it will hopefully flesh out a little by bottling time. Drinking range: 2021 - 2035 Rating: 87-89 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Nov 2019)
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Lacoste-Borie opens with baked plums, stewed cherries, cassis and milk chocolate with earth and herbs. Medium to full-bodied, firm and chewy, it has a good fruit core and an herbal lift on the finish. Rating: 88-90 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Apr 2019)
Inky crimson with purple core. Very Cabernet on the nose, such pure cassis and a lovely rocky/mineral note. Ripe but quite savoury on the palate with a hint of black olives. Lots of freshness and a long savoury finish. Tannins are fine, smooth and the whole is juicy even with good concentration. Opens up in the glass to a touch of spice. Attractively dry and still fresh, juicy on the finish. Drinking range: 2023 - 2030 Rating: 16.5 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2019)
The 2018 Lacoste-Borie is plump, silky and absolutely delicious. Bright red cherry, plum and mocha add lovely shades of nuance throughout. I would prefer to drink this succulent, mid-weight Pauillac over the next handful of years, while it retains its youthful juiciness. The blend is 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc. Tasted two times. Rating: 89-92 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2019)
The second wine of Grand-Puy-Lacoste is 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc. The fruit was picked between September 21st and October 5th, with a yield of 44 hl/ha. It has a lovely perfume, so fresh and pure, pretty with scented notes of chalk dust and crushed pebbles. The palate is soft, plump, rather easy in its texture and form, with a very light extraction, the tannins delicate and silky, with a peppery note and fresh, vibrant acidity. A bright style, pure and charming, one which will be drinking just a few years after it has gone into bottle, although the tannins, tightly knit, shine through in the finish. Rating: 90-92 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2019)
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 on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at 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 £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2024 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2026. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
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). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2026. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.