Château Grand-Puy-Ducasse 2020
AC Pauillac 5ème Cru classé, 750 ml
Description
Citing James Molesworth, Wine Spectator "Flows wonderfully from the start, with an already accessible feel to the mix of cassis and dark blackberry notes inlaid with singed alder, warm paving stone, tobacco leaf and graphite accents that then carry the finish. In the end, there's no rush at all here. A pretty gorgeous Pauillac. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best from 2025 through 2038."
Attributes
| Origin: | France / Bordeaux / Pauillac |
| Grape variety: | Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot |
| Ripening potential: | 5 to 12 years after harvest |
| Drinking temperature: | 16 to 18 °C |
| Food Pairing: | Châteaubriand, Filet Wellington, Spiced grillades, Saddle of lamb fillet with herb jus, Wild boar entrecôte with Spätzli, Blue cheese, Spicy hard cheese |
| Vinification: | long must fermentation, fermentation in steel tank, fining |
| Maturation: | in partly new and used barriques/ Pièces |
| Bottling: | filtration |
| Maturation duration: | 18 months |
| Volume: | 14.5 % |
| Note: | Contains sulphites |
Merlot
Everybody’s darling
Merlot is the most charming member of the Bordeaux family. It shines with rich colour, fragrant fullness, velvety tannins and sweet, plummy fruit. It even makes itself easy for the vintner, as it matures without issue in cool years as well. This is in contrast to the stricter Cabernet Sauvignon, which it complements as a blending partner. Its good qualities have made the Merlot famous worldwide. At over 100,000 hectares, it is the most-planted grape in France. It also covers large areas in California, Italy, Australia and recently in Eastern Europe. The only catch is that pure Merlot varieties rarely turn out well. Its charm is often associated with a lack of substance. Only the best specimens improve with maturity. They then develop complex notes of leather and truffles. This succeeds in the top wines from the Bordeaux appellation of Pomerol and those from Ticino, among others.
Cabernet Sauvignon
The backbone of Bordeaux
The Cabernet Sauvignon gives the Bordeaux its backbone, yielding deep violet wines with powerful tannins and endless ripening potential. It is the top dog in Médoc, and is placed in all five premier crus of Bordelais. When young, it often appears strict and unapproachable, but with advancing years, its tannins round off. It is wonderfully velvety, and yet always maintains its freshness. Typical flavours include cassis, graphite and cedar. Wherever Cabernet Sauvignon is found, Merlot is not far away. It complements the robust structure of Cabernet with softness, fruit and richness. The Cabernet Sauvignon is the most-exported vine in the world. It delivers persuasive qualities in Italy as an ingredient of the Super Tuscan, or as the flagship variety from California. There, it is lovingly titled “Cab Sauv”. Meat fans should be aware that it fantastically accompanies a grilled entrecôte. The family tree of Cabernet Sauvignon is surprising: its parents are Cabernet Franc and the white Sauvignon blanc.
Pauillac
Pauillac: Aristocratic crus
No appellation embodies the noble Bordeaux virtues on such a fine, almost majestic level as Pauillac, the peninsula resting in the Médoc. With Lafite-Rothschild, Latour and Mouton-Rothschild, it is also home to the majority of the five premier crus. The grandeur of Pauillac crus is quite clearly based on the Cabernet Sauvignon variety, which, with a share of over 70 percent, certainly dominates in assemblages, and also lends the wines excellent aging potential.
Bordeaux
Bordeaux: high prestige, high quality
With a total area of around 115,000 hectares, Bordeaux may not be France’s largest wine-growing region, but it is certainly its most prestigious. The range of wines produced here today is enormous: ranging from red everyday wines with a great relationship between price and quality to exclusive, and accordingly expensive, premier crus. Elegant white wines and noble sweet specialties round out the spectrum.
France
France – Philosophy in a bottle
According to French philosophy, wine should be an expression of the soil and climate. They use the word “terroir” to describe this. Terroir makes every wine different, and many especially good. French wine is regarded worldwide as an expression of cultural perfection. The French believe that humans are responsible for the quality of the berries, the vine variety for their character, and nature for the quantity. This philosophy can be expressed succinctly as: “the truth is the vineyard, not the man.”
