Bordeaux 2010 Primeurs: Grand-Puy-Lacoste or Lynch-Bages?
The natural order after the first growths is to second, and whereas a decade or two ago that meant Pichon-Lalande today it is just as (or even more) likely to be Pichon-Baron that receives our attention first. Not in 2010 though; in this vintage it is the fifth growth Grand-Puy-Lacoste that reins supreme, or at the very least alongside Pichon-Baron (I gave the two wines the same score range).
I encountered Grand-Puy-Lacoste at the UGC tasting at Branaire-Ducru, tasting it alongside the majority of the other Pauillac classed growths (the first growths are the obvious absentees, along with Haut-Batailley for some strange reason). The Pauillac line-up did include the two Pichons though, although note that I had already visited Pichon-Baron and Pichon-Lalande that day, so the UGC afforded me repeat tastes of these wines. And comparing Grand-Puy-Lacoste in a side-by-side assessment with its peers it was clear that this wine is a high flyer within the commune. In fact, no such comparison was really necessary; any lone assessment of this wine would have brought you to this conclusion.
