The 2018 Grand-Puy-Lacoste is fabulous, just as it was from barrel. Strong Cabernet inflections soar out of the glass, giving the wine a compelling aromatic profile laced with the essence of graphite, dried herbs, menthol and dark fruit. One of the most classic (for lack of a better word) wines in the Left Bank in 2018, Grand-Puy-Lacoste is super-impressive right out of the gate. Grand-Puy-Lacoste is ultimately a wine of tremendous class that remains restrained and aristocratic in breeding. Don't miss it.

Sweet black cherry fruits, bilberry and hedgerow. A little austere at this stage but confidently so, with a slice of bitter black chocolate. Big Pauillac tannins, no question - a little more prominent than they were en primeur. The wine has taken on weight over ageing so I am slightly extending the drinking window. Harvest 21 September and 5 October. 12% press wine. 75% new oak. A yield of 40hl/ha.

Juicy and compact now, with dark currant, blackberry and fig notes at the core, surrounded by lots of warm earth, singed alder and tobacco leaf notes. Cast iron note helps extend the finish, with the fruit and earth notes keeping pace. Has a slight throwback feel, so if you like old school, ageworthy Pauillac, this is your wine.

Cherries and walnuts with dried flowers on the nose. It’s medium-to full-bodied with very fine tannins, creamy texture and a bright, vivid finish. Plenty of currant and tar. Such polish and beauty. Drink after 2023.

A beautiful Pauillac, the 2018 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste has a classic nose of ripe blackcurrants, scorched earth, cedarwood, and tobacco. This carries to a medium to full-bodied 2018 offering wonderful balance, ripe, polished tannins, and gorgeous purity of fruit. A wine that grows on you with time in the glass, it has building mid-palate depth and tannins, again, terrific balance, remarkable purity of fruit, and outstanding length on the finish. It should round into form in 4-5 years and keep for 20+

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Grand-Puy-Lacoste is scented of warm blackcurrants, black cherries, spice box, florals and chocolate box with a menthol hint. Full-bodied, the palate is rich, plush and generous, finishing long and perfumed.

This is a relatively soft wine, its tannins already embracing the black-currant fruits. The structure is there, smoothly textured and ripe with fruitiness as well as good acidity. This wine is likely to develop relatively quickly, so drink from 2024.

Black core with wide purple rim. Great purity of intense, ripe but fresh black fruit. The fruit flavours are ripe not overripe and scented with cassis and blueberry yet overall there is a freshness to balance the fruit and that rocky/pencil quality that was also on the Lacoste-Borie. Darker and more mineral on the palate, then really bright on the finish with refined tannins. There's a real elegance here thanks to the purity of the fruit and the finesse in the tannins. Harmony and finesse right to the end. A very good year for Grand-Puy-Lacoste.