TN: the 2009 Grand Puy Lacoste doesn't suck

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Blanquito
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TN: the 2009 Grand Puy Lacoste doesn't suck

Post by Blanquito »

2009 GPL Test-Drive
It has a big, expressive bouquet with notes of uber-ripe black currants (think Ribena), violets, dust, cinnamon, and menthol with no obvious new oak. To taste, there's lots of iodine and minerals, very cassis, spicy, with a good pop of lemony acidity despite the ripeness giving it a distinctive sweet-tart quality. Medium to full-bodied with silky tannins, not a monster structure but with very late hit of tannic constriction on the tongue. This is wide-open, primary and young to be sure, but there's nothing closed or inscrutible about this. 90-92 pts.

The mid palate and finish are reassuringly good and show some restraint/class, and doesn't seem like it will fall apart like some walking-dead Rolland zombies. This does improve with 4-5 hours of slow-airing in the bottle showing more class, but will this develop the complexity and texture of the great clarets of yore, or will it remain a pleasant 90-pointer? I dunno, but right now I dislike those notes of overripeness on the nose and attack. Ribena in my Pauillac? I like it a lot more the a 75-pt wine, but Jacques has a point (though this half-bottle shows no oaky vanilla, but there may be some Chilean merlot in the bouquet).

Overall, a GPL with a split personality, taking something from California, something Bordeaux. If this were a young Cali cab, I'd probably be much higher on this, but this is a Grand Cru Classe from Pauillac... Clearly, this appears different than the great GPLs of old, but I didn't try the 82, 90 or 95 on release. What I can say with confidence, this 2009 certainly is different -- not necessarily worse, maybe even better, but definitely different -- than the 00/01 GPLs which I tasted young.

This is ripe and shows modern influences on its winemaking... or is this just the 09 vintage showing through? Will this settle down as a classic claret after 15 years? Time will tell, but tonight this 09 GPL doesn't have the gravitas of the 2005, so maybe my reservations are really about the global-warming of wine.
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pomilion
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Re: TN: the 2009 Grand Puy Lacoste doesn't suck

Post by pomilion »

Blanquito wrote:2009 GPL Test-Drive What I can say with confidence, this 2009 certainly is different -- not necessarily worse, maybe even better, but definitely different -- than the 00/01 GPLs which I tasted young.

This is ripe and shows modern influences on its winemaking... or is this just the 09 vintage showing through? Will this settle down as a classic claret after 15 years? Time will tell, but tonight this 09 GPL doesn't have the gravitas of the 2005, so maybe my reservations are really about the global-warming of wine.
Although GPL certainly has become a bit more modern/international in style over the past 15 years, mostly what you're tasting is the '09 vintage. '09 Figeac, for example, is amazing but doesn't taste much like traditional Figeac -- it reminded me more of '00 Pavie... I would agree that compared with '09 GPL, the '05 has a bit more classic aristocratic austerity to it, but I love both (I bought a bunch of '10 GPL in part because from critics' notes it seems like a cross between the two vintages). '09 isn't really a vintage (yet) for traditionalists -- it's incredibly ripe, and even more traditional bordeaux, at this stage, can taste pretty modern because of that. I do think all but the most radically modern '09s will settle down just fine in 10-15 years.
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Blanquito
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Re: TN: the 2009 Grand Puy Lacoste doesn't suck

Post by Blanquito »

Pomilion, thanks for the input. I hope you are right!

I find myself appreciating your point of view, but I don't know who are you and what your biosketch is. Care to give the board a brief bio? I suspect I read your stuff on other "true names" wine boards.
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AlohaArtakaHoundsong
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Re: TN: the 2009 Grand Puy Lacoste doesn't suck

Post by AlohaArtakaHoundsong »

I would also hazard that the 09-ness is expressing itself most prominently in the wine at this time. Maybe it always will. This is to be expected. When anyone comes across an 09 that seems really taut, high strung and holding back, please let me know. I remember carping heavily on the 05s I tried on release. They were really gooey, most of them. The 09s I've tried have pretty much all had massive upfront and exuberant fruit, +/-. This is probably not the vintage to test the theory of how exactly modern winemaking is affecting Bdx one way or the other. It's for others to say if 09 is the best vintage ever, the apotheosis of Bdx or of all wine. But it is what it is.
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jal
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Re: TN: the 2009 Grand Puy Lacoste doesn't suck

Post by jal »

I'm glad you liked it Patrick, we agree to disagree.
I have tasted plenty of Bordeaux at a young age and from different vintages, this tasted horrible to me and to everyone else at the table. It had been decanted for two hours prior to pouring.
Best

Jacques
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Blanquito
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Re: TN: the 2009 Grand Puy Lacoste doesn't suck

Post by Blanquito »

Jacques, I think we actually tasted a similar wine, except thankfully I just didn't get the new oak (which by itself could muster a 75 points from me).

When I first opened the 09 GPL, it seemed seriously over-ripe and indeed showed traits that reminded me of some inexpensive South American wines. I was unimpressed, maybe scoring something in the low 80's.

After 5 hours of air, however, this really settled down into the wine I tried to describe. Not a wow wine by any means, but nor something I would dump out. In fact, my main issue by the end of the half bottle was a lack of GPL typicity, which your note called out as well. So in that way, I think we got a similar gestalt (except for the oak), but it didn't downgrade the wine as much for me.
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JimHow
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Re: TN: the 2009 Grand Puy Lacoste doesn't suck

Post by JimHow »

Geez, Patrick, only 90-92 points, not a wow wine, split personality, lack of GPL typicity... Doesn't sound like a $150 wine to me. Nor does it sound anything close to the great GPLs of the past!
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Blanquito
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Re: TN: the 2009 Grand Puy Lacoste doesn't suck

Post by Blanquito »

JimHow wrote:Geez, Patrick, only 90-92 points, not a wow wine, split personality, lack of GPL typicity... Doesn't sound like a $150 wine to me. Nor does it sound anything close to the great GPLs of the past!
I agree on all accounts, though I paid $70 (still too high unless DavidG's optimism proves correct).
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OrlandoRobert
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Re: TN: the 2009 Grand Puy Lacoste doesn't suck

Post by OrlandoRobert »

This is bumming me. I think GPL was my first purchase of the 09s. Paid $80.
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Blanquito
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Re: TN: the 2009 Grand Puy Lacoste doesn't suck

Post by Blanquito »

The 2009 might not be my bag in general, at least right now. I just expected more of the GPL, especially after the awesome 05.
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Blanquito
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Re: TN: the 2009 Grand Puy Lacoste doesn't suck

Post by Blanquito »

I've been resisting trying any Chinon (I don't need any new wine regions together excited about), but this 09 GPL makes me reconsider that.
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