2009 Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste Pauillac 750 ml

Drink-Now Pauillac Gem From Epic 2009 Vintage

Nearly a decade later, Bordeaux collectors still buzz about the 99-point score Robert Parker gave to Pauillac’s 2009 vintage. The tally made millionaires nervous about First Growth prices, but there’s no reason to fret … if you know where to look. Case in point: the 2009 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste Pauillac — a Grand Cru Classé gem Parker deemed a “great classic” that is “very concentrated,” and “velvety-textured” in his 95-point review. It also scored 95 points from James Suckling, who called it “complex and decadent.” Impatient types take note: Suckling also said this wine would be ready to drink right now — and he’s spot on. 120 bottles of Left Bank brilliance from an absurdly terrific year, direct from the Château in perfect condition and provenance.   

When it comes to Bordeaux, legacy is everything. Nearly two centuries before America declared its independence from Great Britain, the candles were burning at Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste, and the wine was flowing. We like to think about how, as the château’s 20th century vines made their deep-rooted descent into the decomposed matter of 15th century plantings, a bit of that legacy was making its way into every bottle.  

Two family names are central to the estate’s history: Lacoste, a family whose impressive run stretched for two centuries; and Borie. In 1978, Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste was purchased by Jean-Eugène Borie, owner of Château Haut-Batailley next door, and the celebrated Ducru-Beaucaillou a few miles south in Saint-Julien. Borie’s son, François-Xavier, has held the reins now for three decades, and continues to produce beautiful, dark-fruited, Cabernet-dominated, classically structured Pauillac that can go decades in the cellar.

Situated on the Left Bank of the Gironde, Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste benefits from slightly higher elevations and greater exposure to the sun’s rays. Pauillac’s gravel-based soils retain heat, which aids ripening into evening hours. Forests to the west buffer the vines from wind gusting off the Atlantic Ocean, allowing cool, cleansing breezes to help grapes retain firm and lively acidity.

Parker’s “exceptional” designation of Pauillac’s 2009 harvest hints at how blessed Bordeaux was that year. According to Suckling, some vintners feel the Left Bank region’s clear, warm weather during harvest time produced a vintage on par with modern legends like 1982, 1989, and 2005 — a sentiment bold enough to cause dramatic price hikes. The 2009 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste Pauillac avoids this drama, making it one of the choicest examples of quality-to-price ratio on the Left Bank.

Jonathan Cristaldi

Editor-in-Chief, Wine Access