Winery
Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste
Region
5th Growth Pauillac, Bordeaux, France
Varietal
74% Cabernet Sauvignon - 23% Merlot - 3% Cabernet Franc
Alcohol%
13.5
Tasting Note
The wine is garnet red with a crimson tint.
The highly expressive nose is remarkable for its intense and radiant red fruit aromas mingled with notes of roasted coffee and marzipan.
The ample and full-bodied attack reveals a well-rounded, silky tannic structure, giving an impression of richness and volume, underlined by a generous and varied range of flavours such as cherry, vanilla and liquorice.
The long finish is sustained by hints of chocolate. Grand Puy Lacoste 2015 will go down in history as one of the great vintages, a vintage that demonstrates the great class and wonderful quality of the vineyard. Made with a majority of Cabernet Sauvignon (74%) the wine has a lovely structure and balance, which amply demonstrate the complexities and opulence of this truly wonderful vintage. The wine is an intense, deep red. The nose is opulent with notes of black fruit and ripe blackcurrants. These notes are complemented by notes of spice and violets, all with a
lovely freshness, underlined by the presence of cabernet franc (3%) in the final blend. On the palate the wine is dense and precise, the aromas and textures build on the mid-palate and are carried by rich, powerful, well-rounded tannins. The 2015, precise and complex, with freshness and excellent length is a very classy wine indeed. It compares well with the best vintages of Grand Puy Lacoste and its complexity is a wonderful expression of terroir.
Awards
96 points James Suckling
Swathed in spicy and toasty oak aromas, this has a wealth of superbly expressed red and dark berries, flowers and mint. The palate delivers a very assertive and energetic array of dark berries and spiced plums with a fresh, focused, vibrant finish. Superb wine. Try from 2023. 
(2/2018)
95 points Vinous
The 2015 Grand Puy Lacoste is just as compelling from the bottle as it was from the barrel. Sensual, polished and refined, the 2015 is all class. Silky tannins, perfumed aromatics and beautifully delineated fruit are some of the signatures. The natural richness of the year comes through nicely, but without overpowering the wine's mid-weight sense of structure. This is a fabulous example of the year. (AG) (2/2018)
93 points Decanter
Cedar-brushed toasted oak on the nose is backed up by spicy, bitter chocolate which leads a tight but mouthwatering attack. Lovely complexity builds slowly but surely through the palate, revealing a seam of cassis and caraway seed, full of spice, flesh and promise. It has the feeling, as with much of Pauillac in 2015, of being fully ripe, but not a breath more. 75% new oak. (JA) (11/2017)
93 points Wine Enthusiast
The wine from this estate, owned by one of the great Bordeaux families, is already balanced between fruit and tannins. Black currants from the Cabernet Sauvignon comes through strongly, giving a juicy character to the wine’s structure. It is rich and will mature well. Drink from 2025. (RV) (12/2017)
92 points Wine Spectator
This is on the charming side of the spectrum, with a rounded hint to the mix of violet-infused plum and cherry fruit, accented by notes of singed cedar and sandalwood. Light black tea and warm cast iron accents pervade the finish, returning this to a more typical Pauillac profile. Best from 2020 through 2032. (JM) (3/2018)
91 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Grand-Puy-Lacoste is medium garnet-purple colored with a nose of red and black currants, cedar chest and roses with a touch of dusty earth. The medium-bodied mouth is chewy, with lively fruit and good balance. (LBP) 91+ (2/2018)