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The Borie family bought this Chateau in 1978 and Francois Xavier has lived there and made the wine ever since. Now that he has no responsibility whatsoever for Ch Ducru Beaucaillou he was able to concentrate even more on his own property. With the result that he has produced a brilliant wine blended from 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Franc. Plump and dark with ripe tannins and perfect balance, this is a great favourite of the Goedhuis team.
The Borie family bought this Chateau in 1978 and Francois Xavier has lived there and made the wine ever since. Now that he has no responsibility whatsoever for Ch Ducru Beaucaillou he was able to concentrate even more on his own property. With the result that he has produced a brilliant wine blended from 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Franc. Plump and dark with ripe tannins and perfect balance, this is a great favourite of the Goedhuis team.
An atypically superficial effort from one of my favorite Pauillacs, the 2003 Grand-Puy-Lacoste is very good, but it does not stand up to some of the finest northern Medoc offerings. A deep ruby/purple-tinged color is followed by a moderately intense bouquet of black currants and underbrush. It hits the palate with good fruit and medium body, but tails off in the finish. It is an elegant, lighter-styled example of this generally high-class performer. Drink: Now-2018
Not showing as well as it did last year, this effort seems to be lighter and less concentrated than I initially thought. Dark ruby/purple-tinged with notes of pure cassis, tobacco leaf, spice box, and some background mineral characteristics, the wine is medium-bodied, revealing good ripeness, sweetness, and overall fine balance with relatively low acidity and ripe tannin. Less-full-bodied and multi-layered than I thought, it may be going through an awkward evolutionary stage. Drink: Now-2017.
Full and rich with loads of blackberry and cherry character. Ripe tannins. Long finish. Pretty red. Almost 92-94. Very good indeed. 15,555 cases made. -- J.S.
Huge colour and lovely fruit with finesse and length, but also tremendous structure and grip, lovely small berry fruit, a very good wine in a very good vintage for Pauillac. Drink: 2010-2025.
Due south of St Estèphe lies the appellation of Pauillac, the king of Left Bank communes. It is home to three first growths as well as a plethora of other classified growths. Pauillac's renowned well-draining, gravelly soils enable its dominant grape Cabernet Sauvignon to reach fantastic heights of complexity and concentration. As a result, Pauilac's wines tend to be full-bodied with compact tannins and good freshness. Its aromatics are often what one associates with classic Bordeaux: pencil shavings, black currant and occasional mint. Some of the most famous châteaux of the commune are Latour, Mouton Rothschild, Lafite Rothschild, Pichon Baron, Pichon Lalande and Lynch Bages.
