Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste, 5th Grand Cru Classe, Pauillac, 2009

James Suckling – 95 Points

Dark and delicately spicy this a very complete medium-full bodied 2009 that’s not a jot too ripe or too firm. Beautiful balance through the long polished finish. Drink or hold.

Decanter – 95 Points

From 50ha of vines in a single block of gravelly soils, this gives concentrated cassis and blackberry aromatics on the nose, with the juiciness providing interest all the way through the palate. I love this for its Pauillac-ness, and it’s so mouthwatering that you have barely finished one sip before you want another. Lovely quality, perhaps not as perfectly balanced as the 2005, but just as satisfying. It’s one of the best 2009s in the lineup that’s not exorbitantly priced.