Winemaker Notes
Blend: 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Deep vibrant nose, aromatic and scented with floral notes and soft hints of liquorice, earth, blackcurrants, black cherries and herbal-edged raspberries. Succulent and sharp, zingy and tangy straight away. Lovely purity and focus, smooth but fine-grained tannins make the impact and give the delicate but so appealing structure. Lovely precision and generosity here, feels elegant and lively with good fruit persistence, mouthwatering acidity and liveliness. Intense but pure, layered but almost light, with an undercurrent of wet stone and graphite giving the mineral touches alongside subtle spice. Well made and so easy to enjoy. 3.65pH. A yield of 38hl/ha. 60% grand vin, 40% second wine. Eric Boissenot consultant.
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James Suckling
A fine and fresh red with currants and chocolate, cedar and spice. Medium body. Savory and juicy. Delicious finish already.
Barrel Sample: 92-93 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc, the 2022 Lacoste-Borie is as good a wine from this label as I can remember tasting. Exhibiting aromas of cassis, charcoal and violets, it's medium to full-bodied, ample and lively, with excellent depth and persistence.
Barrel Sample: 90-92
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.