Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 2018

Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 2018

Producer: Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste | Appellation: Pauillac, Bordeaux, France
Vintage: 2018 | Classification: Cinquième Cru Classé (Fifth Growth, 1855)
Blend: Predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot and Cabernet Franc
Drinking Window: 2025–2055+ | Aging Potential: 35+ years

The Wine

Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste is one of Pauillac's most consistently admired estates, renowned for producing classic, Cabernet-driven wines with remarkable purity, structure, and longevity. Its gravel-rich vineyards are ideally suited to Cabernet Sauvignon, giving the wines their distinctive combination of dark fruit, freshness, and refined tannins.

The 2018 vintage was an exceptional year for Bordeaux, producing wines of impressive richness, concentration, and ripeness while retaining the freshness and structure needed for long-term ageing. Grand-Puy-Lacoste captures these qualities beautifully, offering a generous yet precise expression of Pauillac.

Rich and powerful, but never heavy, the wine combines intense cassis and blackberry fruit with the estate's characteristic graphite, cedar, and mineral notes. Fine-grained tannins provide a firm framework, while fresh acidity keeps the palate balanced and energetic. This is a classic, age-worthy Pauillac with plenty of potential ahead.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Intense aromas of cassis, blackberry, and black cherry are layered with cedar, graphite, violet, cigar box, and subtle sweet spice.

Palate: Full-bodied and concentrated, with a generous core of ripe dark fruit supported by polished tannins. Notes of liquorice, tobacco, cocoa, and crushed stone add depth and complexity.

Finish: Long, powerful, and refined, with lingering blackcurrant, graphite, cedar, and classic Pauillac mineral character.

Producer Details

Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste has been owned by the Borie family since 1978 and has established itself as one of the Médoc's most reliable and admired estates. Its combination of exceptional gravel terroir, traditional winemaking, and meticulous vineyard management produces wines known for their purity, balance, and impressive ageing potential.

Wine Details

Vinification: Fermented in temperature-controlled vats before ageing in French oak barrels for approximately 16–18 months.
Alcohol Content: ~13.5–14% ABV
Cellaring: Drinking well with decanting, but with considerable potential to develop further through 2055+.

Food Pairing Suggestions

Ideal with:
– Roast lamb
– Côte de bœuf
– Beef Wellington
– Venison and other game dishes
– Truffle-based cuisine
– Mature hard cheeses