2006 - Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Pauillac

We are really getting in to the stride at this point of what you get with an older Grand Puy Lacoste - it is so juicy, so restrained, beautifully balanced. This is a vintage which is pretty surly in many cases but here it feels effortless, brushed with pencil lead and eucalpytus, still young with plenty to give. Entering that window when you could drink it tomorrow or in 15 years and you would be getting the same experience - the early austerity is just beginning to disappear, and behind you have essence of Pauillac. Serve a little cool to allow the floral character to unfold as it warms up. Harvest September 21 to October 4.

Tasted at Bordeaux Index's annual 10-Year On tasting in London. I raved about the 2006 Château Grand Puy-Lacoste when I tasted it from barrel ten years ago. It has evolved a really quite beautiful, very classic Pauillac bouquet with vivacious blackberry, raspberry and wild mint aromas that deftly absorb the oak. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, perhaps a more forward "GPL" than other vintages, but there is genuine fineness to the tannin and that backward finish has great precision. There is the substance to suggest that it will be a long-term Left Bank and you could probably broach it after another 3-4 years. Tasted January 2016.

The 2006 Grand-Puy-Lacoste has an attractive and quite medicinal bouquet of black cherries, cassis, peppermint and light violet scents. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly dry tannins, still medicinal in style with a core of savoury, dried-blood-tinged black fruit. The finish is just a bit short. Fine.

The 2006 Grand-Puy-Lacoste is medium to deep garnet-brick in color. It rolls effortlessly out of the glass with notes of prunes and dried figs before giving way to scents of tobacco, cast-iron pan, dusty soil, and dried cranberries. The medium-bodied palate is soft and savory, with subtle flavors and a refreshing finish.

78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot. 43 hl/ha.Dark hue with a lighter rim. Fairly reserved aromatically with just a hint of liquorice and dark fruit. Dense and full on the palate with plenty of tannin but the tannins are rather hard and abrasive. Altogether a bit too tough and austere. Dry finish. May come around with even more bottle age but the tannins look like outlasting the fruit. (JL)