Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste 5eme Cru Classe, Pauillac 2014

The 2014 Grand Puy Lacoste is superb. Dark, dense and inviting, the 2014 possesses remarkable depth and richness. Black cherry, plum, smoke, licorice and tobacco all develop in the glass, but it is the overall feel that is most impressive. Silky, polished tannins nicely balance the wine's overt personality. In short, the 2014 has it all. Don't miss it. This is a knockout wine from proprietor François-Xavier Borie.

The 2014 Grand-Puy Lacoste has a bouquet with blackberry, boysenberry, mint and graphite, well defined and focused. It does not have to try too hard to give so much pleasure. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, very crisp acidity, beautifully proportioned with a veneer of top quality new oak that will need three or four years to be fully subsumed. But the purity and elegance of this Pauillac cannot be denied – a quite brilliant contribution to the 2014 vintage. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.