Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Pauillac Grand Cru Classé, 2017

One of the most respected and dearly loved of the Pauillac Châteaux that is still, relatively approachable in price, this is a stunning and rewarding wine, full of dark fruits, integrated spices delivered over a svelte and coating palate that is fathom-like in its depth.

A truly magnetic and seductive nose, with layers and layers of black and red fruits with sumptuous volumes of fascinating spice and developing tertiary notes. The palate is concentrated and brilliantly balanced with sweet, integrated tannins and an almost imperceptible, supportive acidity. What's the finish like? I can still remember it from the last time I served it to friends, nearly two years ago. 

The 2017 vintage was nearly perfect with the exception of a damaging frost, which came, as ever in France, on one night in April. However, those Châteaux in the better villages of the Médoc were protected from the worst of the frost damage because of the warming air influence from the Gironde. By September the vines were nearly perfect and couldn't be spoiled by a few light showers; harvest took place from mid-month to early October. 

The Château is on a small hill to the west of the Pauillac commune, just above the hamlet of Bages. the height, exposure and rich gravelly soils make it one of the most idyllic and perfect spots for viticulture. Its 90 hectares surround the main property complex in which the winery is located. For 300 years the property was in the same family hands, before being purchased by the Borie family in 1978. Since then a slow replanting of the vineyards has taken place with the average age of vines at about 38 years. The vineyard make up is 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc.

Picked by hand, the grapes go through a double sorting - once in the vineyard and again in the winery, where after the bunches are de-stemmed, grapes are placed on a long, wide, vibrating belt, that fires off any weaker, poorer quality fruit. Since instigating this double triage in 2006, the quality of the wine has rocketed - as too have the prices. The wines are blended from 43 different vats of ferment, reflecting the 43 parcels of vines. Following blending, the wines age for between 16 and 18 months in two-thirds new oak and one-third one-year-old barrels. 

Interestingly the 2017 does not include any Cabernet Franc, possibly because of frost issues, and the resultant blend is 80% Cabernet and 20% Merlot - definitely a classic vintage and one that has benefitted those able to refrain from approaching it too soon. And one more interesting point - this is the oldest Château in the Médoc and the classic building is home to the family. They are so traditional that they have hired grape pickers from the same village in Spain for the past 45 years, who are housed in the Château itself with the family for the period of the harvest! (I'd consider moving to that village...)

The Borie family are justifiably proud of their output and delight in the consistently positive feedback from clients, trade and journalists alike.

It is a wine that I have loved for decades and whenever I have served it, has won friends and given huge levels of pleasure to those who share in it. A special, classic and timeless wine style - never out of fashion. And only 13.5% abv.

Matthew Jukes, top forty wines of the year 2018, 18.5/20

"This has a thrilling nose which, in spite of the weighty dominance of Cabernet, is perfectly red-fruited and sonorous. This is a sleek thoroughbred with power and grace and it is layered with flashes of both red and black fruit on the palate. The finish has more muscle and more tannin looms as the flavour senesces on the back of the palate and the result is a game of flamboyance and reticence warning the drinker that while the flavour entices you in, there is also the need to exercise restraint because this is a not a wine for drinking in the short term in spite of its apparent precocity. Throughout the flavour there is levity and this is what makes this powerful wine such an unequivocal success. François-Xavier Borie agrees with this character. He smiled – ‘don’t forget we are serious’."