TN: 2014 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste

  • 2014 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (2/10/2018)
    A return to form - for me, at least. Having had a vertical covering 3 decades of GPL, with the more recent (and ripe! vintages, too) bottlings having been served last, I had all but thrown in the towel on this label (i.e. newer releases were too ripe, too modern, boring; older vintages were awesome). But last night’s bottle has proven this just isn’t so - at least not in 2014 vintage. Med>full-bodied, plenty of racy acidity, fine tannins that are in need of more time and/or aeration, and a lengthy, soil and red-fruit infused finish that lingers for a good 30 seconds. Sure, this is a baby, but with a few hours in decanter, there’s already a lot on display. Love the earth/soil canvas, the dusty, herbal red berries, and the tobacco and forest elements that weave in and out. If I were holding any, my window would be 2023-2039. 13,5% abv., HOLD. highly recommended

Aerated to decanter ~ 3 hours, served non-blind over a 3 hour dinner.

Posted from CellarTracker

Thanks for the note, and taking one for the team. I appreciate hearing notes that affirm my decision to buy a half case of this on futures champagne.gif

Good to hear, Tim. I definitely thought the 09 GPL was nearing over the top on release, but wasn’t sure if that was the vintage speaking.

Thanks for the note, Tim. The 2014 GPL was one of my favorites at the UGC tasting last year, and we bought a few to cellar.

Thanks,
Ed

I bought a lot of this as well, then 2010 and 2005. Just picked up some 2000.

The 2014 GPL was my favorite Pauillac excepting only Latour and Mouton at the Southwold tasting (blind) the other day, and a real stand-out in the vintage.

I don’t share your reservations about recent vintages here, however. I don’t see the '09 GPL being any riper vis a vis the '08 than the '82 is vis a vis the '81, for example.

In any case, the 2014 has plenty of acid and tannin and seems to be somewhat reminiscent of the 1996.

Thanks for the detailed note Tim. I’m much better at painting with a broad brush.
As to the wine, flirtysmile
I’m gonna open another one soon, and save a few for maturity.

Last night was great fun. I look forward to doing it again with you sometime.

If William is right a lot of patience is needed with the 2014 GPL because the 1996 is still young and the best days of this wine are in the future.

“Having had a vertical covering 3 decades of GPL, with the more recent (and ripe! vintages, too) bottlings having been served last, I had all but thrown in the towel on this label (i.e. newer releases were too ripe, too modern, boring; older vintages were awesome). But last night’s bottle has proven this just isn’t so - at least not in 2014 vintage.”

My sentiments exactly, good to hear about a return to form for GPL.

This wine also has a big thumbs up from all those on BWE who have tried it.

I agree with William that GPL '14 was very youthful last week, when tasted blind amongst other '14 Pauillacs.
2014 GPL is definitely a classic year after over ripe 2009 and amazing 2010.
However in the blind tasting I rated Fort de Latour, Pichon Lalande, Pichon Baron and Lynch Bages higher than GPL 2014.

Yes, but I can buy the GPL for under $60. Not even close for the others.

Yes, Chris, a very fair point.
When we are tasting blind it is a totally level playing field. Without price considerations…

2014 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (9/15/2018)
– decanted a couple hours before tasting –
– tasted a couple pours non-blind –

Red-fruited. Stony/pencil. Alc. not noticeable. Not very tannic. Medium acidity. Medium-light to medium bodied. Classic Pauillac. Fairly accessible. Am hoping this puts on a bit of weight with age. Happy to have more.

I had this when it came out. Very delicate and red-fruited for a Paulliac. But also had a lot of energy and intensity. This seems like a characteristic of 2014s and GPL is one of the best examples. I think there is a lot of hidden depth there and it will age well. Very good QPR.

Re GPL in general – yes they have missed on a lot of vintages, but I thought the 2005 was terrific. Far from ready though.

2005 and 2010 are both fantastic, imo. Agree the 05 is nowhere near ready.

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2014 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (9/2/2020)
– decanted approx. 20 minutes before initial taste –
– tasted non-blind over a few hours –

NOSE: medium oak; cocoa powder; fairly “dark,” but with a hint of pyrazine; moderately expressive / noticeably reserved somewhat.

BODY: violet-garnet color of great depth; medium bodied.

TASTE: “fresh” with tannins that are noticeable, but not fierce; dark-fruited (purple fruited); deeply-embedded stony mineral tones; very old-school, but without an austerity or rough edges; drinks well for a young Bdx, but really it’s best to Hold for another 10 years.

50, 5, 12, 17, 8 = (92 pts.)

Feeling good about this, I bought 6 EP, I also bought 6 DDC, recently also reviewed well. St Pierre was my other purchase, has anyone tried that recently?

Thanks for your note Tim. Not unlike you, I really enjoyed the 14 GPL as well. My 2020 tasting note follows:

At first this wine doesn’t resemble Paulliac nor Bordeaux… it starts off with a bright aroma of red fruits, dominated mostly by red cherries. It gradually builds and after approximately 3 hours it had transformed magnificently. At 4 hours decant it shows much darker berries and classic Bordeaux characteristic.

Lovely juicy and cool blackberries and cassis dominate the nose. Some tobacco and smoke together with cedar, mint and graphite. Occasionally whiff of herbs.

The palate is slightly understated on the entry, but gains with air. It shows some of the lightness of some 2014’s, but gain depth and concentration with time. Medium bodied with quite fine tannin (the tannins showed a bit more after the decant). Feels kind of silky, but you can definitely feel that nice structure underneath. Lovely cisp acidity. Slightly gravelly mineral finish. Great length.

This is an elegant Grand-Puy-Lacoste with finesse. All very classic and elegant. Palate approachable for drinking now, but I would be inclined to give this another 4-5 years and drink over the next 20. Job well done in ‘14 by GPL! Looking forward to the rest of my bottles!

Score: 93+, with potential upside. (93 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

The 2014 DDC is really good; clearly better than the GPL, imo.