Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste 1990
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Big and juicy red. Dark color, with coffee bean and chocolate aromas. Full-bodied and velvety, with loads of ripe fruit and a long, flavorful finish.--1990 Bordeaux retrospective.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 1990 Grand-Puy-Lacoste is a wine that I had not tasted for a number of years. For a long time it was stubborn and tannic, uncommon attributes in what was such a comely vintage. Now at 26 years of age, this bottle served by Xavier Borie suggests that finally the 1990 has come round. Deep in color, it has a gorgeous bouquet of black fruit, potpourri, graphite and melted tar. There is warmth here, but it does not impede upon the articulation of its origins in Pauillac. The palate has clearly melted in recent years, and maintains superb balance and weight. Sure, as Robert Parker himself remarked, it is evolving at a glacial pace—slower than the 1998 tasted alongside. That means its pleasure is going to be prolonged over many, many years. Tasted July 2016.
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One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
The leader on the Left Bank in number of first growth classified producers within its boundaries, Pauillac has more than any of the other appellations, at three of the five. Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Mouton Rothschild border St. Estephe on its northern end and Chateau Latour is at Pauillac’s southern end, bordering St. Julien.
While the first growths are certainly some of the better producers of the Left Bank, today they often compete with some of the “lower ranked” producers (second, third, fourth, fifth growth) in quality and value. The Left Bank of Bordeaux subscribes to an arguably outdated method of classification that goes back to 1855. The finest chateaux in that year were judged on the basis of reputation and trading price; changes in rank since then have been miniscule at best. Today producers such as Chateau Pontet-Canet, Chateau Grand Puy-Lacoste, Chateau Lynch-Bages, among others (all fifth growth) offer some of the most outstanding wines in all of Bordeaux.
Defining characteristics of fine wines from Pauillac (i.e. Cabernet-based Bordeaux Blends) include inky and juicy blackcurrant, cedar or cigar box and plush or chalky tannins.
Layers of gravel in the Pauillac region are key to its wines’ character and quality. The layers offer excellent drainage in the relatively flat topography of the region allowing water to run off into “jalles” or streams, which subsequently flow off into the Gironde.