2009 Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste 5eme Cru Classe, Pauillac 1×1.5L

Robert Parker 94

Served blind at the Southwold 2009 tasting. The Grand Puy Lacoste ’09 has a slightly more reticent nose against its peers, but no less intriguing with aromas of blackberry, pencil shavings, a touch of undergrowth and mint. The palate is medium-bodied with a dash of spice on the entry. The build is more immediate here, a wave of intense black fruits crashing across the palate that tingles with glee long after the wine is ejected. This is a long-term wine that will repay a decade at least in the cellar. Tasted January 2013. [Neal Martin, 01/01/2013]

Vinous 94

Good medium ruby. Ripe, slightly high-toned aromas and flavors of cassis and chocolate, lifted by cedar and minerals. Then more dark berries and minerals in the mouth, complicated by a candied violet nuance. Not particularly large-scaled in what is a generally exotic, very ripe vintage, but intensely flavored and very well delineated, offering an enticing combination of ripeness and energy for the year. The long finish features a suave tannic backbone and repeating notes of dark berries and violet. [Stephen Tanzer, 01/07/2012]