2023 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Cru Classé Pauillac

The 2023 Grand-Puy-Lacoste is powerful, reticent and shy, revealing notes of black cherry, gravel, scorched earth and licorice. It’s rich, ample and quite potent, marked by an intriguing mix of super-ripe Merlots and later-picked Cabernet. All of this fruit was picked before the September rain, so the tannins are a touch aggressive. Time in bottle should help this come together.

The 2023 Grand Puy Lacoste was picked September 11 to 28 at 48hL/ha and matured in 75% new oak. It has a classic "GPL" bouquet with blackberry, pencil box and light marine scents, obviously not as powerful as the previous vintage, yet in typical style, beautifully defined and focused. Just a touch of cracked black pepper surfaces with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with gentle but insistent grip, just a light bitter edge lending tension and nerve. I perceive good depth here, but this is not a powerhouse of a Pauillac (is GPL ever?). It fans out toward the finish whilst maintaining control. There’s an impressive linearity to this wine, and thus I suspect it will require less bottle-age compared to recent vintages.

Beautiful purity and freshness to the blackcurrants and blackberries with subtle notes of cedar and graphite. Medium- to full-bodied. So polished and silky, almost weightless. It’s very long. 77% cabernet sauvignon and 23% merlot.

Aromas of cassis, cigar wrapper, pencil shavings and violets introduce the 2023 Grand-Puy-Lacoste, a medium to full-bodied, fleshy and supple wine that's seamless and sensual, with good depth at the core, beautifully integrated tannins and a lively, charming profile. It's a blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon and 23% Merlot that was picked between September 11-28.