La Croix De Grand-Puy-Ducasse 2018 - Bordeaux , France

95/100 Bettane & Desseauve (2016 Vintage)
93/100 The Wine Cellar Insider (2016 Vintage)
92/100 James Suckling (2016 Vintage)
92/100 Antonio Galloni MW, Vinous (2016 Vintage)
92/100 Wine Advocate (2016 Vintage)
90/100 Jeb Dunnuck (2016 Vintage)

Decanter "For the last few years this estate has been hovering of the edge of really delivering the brilliant Pauillac wine it’s surely capable of. The 2018 is impressive with toasted smoky caramel notes and clear gourmet edging to it."

Neal Martin, Wine Advocate "The 2016 Grand-Puy-Ducasse follows up the 2015 with a 2016 that is equally good, marking--one hopes--a change in direction for this Pauillac estate that frustratingly under-performed in the past. This has a very attractive bouquet with pure blackberry and raspberry coulis aromas, just that hint of pencil lead leading you towards Pauillac. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, plenty of sappy black fruit and a hint of tar and graphite towards the persistent finish. This is an excellent "G.P.D" that should give a couple decades of drinking pleasure." (2016 Vintage)

Jeb Dunnuck "Showing well in the vintage, the 2016 Château Grand-Puy-Ducasse offers a medium ruby color as well as medium-bodied notes of sweet cassis, saddle leather, and spice, with a subtle floral element developing with time in the glass. It’s pure, has fine tannins, and shows the more elegant, finesse-driven style of the vintage. It lags behind the top wines in the appellation yet has class and should keep for two decades or more." (2016.Vintage)

Antonio Galloni MW, Vinous "The 2016 Grand Puy Ducasse shows far better today than it did en primeur. Bold, racy and quite giving, the 2016 is a very pretty wine. Sweet red cherry, plum, spice, mocha and blood orange are all laced together. This is a decidedly racy, exotic style, and there is so much allure to the 2016 that it will be nearly impossible to resist young." (2016 Vintage)

James Suckling "A medium-bodied and elegant Pauillac with fine, mixed-currant aromas, polished tannins and a lively finish. Drink or hold." (2016 Vintage)

Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider "Full bodied, silky, long and fresh, the wine has depth and concentration along with all the ripe, sweet, juicy, fresh dark red fruits you need. The clean, vibrant, cassis and blackberry note in the finish sticks with you. The wine was made from blending 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot. The is clearly the best vintage of Grand Puy Ducasse of all time!" (2016 Vintage)

Bettane & Desseauve (translated) "Complete wine, seriously built, tannic but without stiffness, with a more precise texture, more harmonious than in the past. Probably good value for money." (2016 Vintage)

Le guide des vins de France "Château Grand-Puy Ducasse as one of the best wines of 2014."

Decanter "Rich black summer fruits of good smoothness and depth. There’s a nice touch of spice and good ripe tannins." (2014 vintage)

The Winemaker “...a beautiful, brilliant ruby colour. The nose expresses itself with fresh and delicate fruit. The oak is roasted and vanilla. The round mouth demonstrates a good tannic structure. The finish is delicious and elegant.” (2013 Vintage)

55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot

Chateau Grand-Puy-Ducasse is one of the oldest producers of Bordeaux - classified 5th growth in the famous 1855 classification. Chateau Grand-Puy-Ducasse is an award winning estate located in the northern part of Pauillac, bordering other famous Pauillac estates, Mouton Rothschild, Lafite Rothschild and if you travel further to the north, Pontet Canet and Chateau d’Armailhac. Château Grand-Puy Ducasse was classified among 1300 best French Châteaux by La Revue du vin de France in its Guide des mielleurs vins de France in 2014. The estate's technical director, Anne Le Naour was voted by Wine Spectator as one of the “50 French women that count”.

Pauillac is a well known French wine growing region located between Saint-Estèphe and Saint-Julien on Bordeaux's Médoc peninsula (“Left Bank”), is home to some of the world's most famous and expensive red wines wines, made predominantly from the Cabernet Sauvignon grape variety, which is well suited to the free-draining gravel soils found in Pauillac's vineyards. The stellar reputation of Pauillac wines is based not only on their quality, but on their success in international fine wine markets. Three of the top five châteaux in the 1855 Médoc Classification (a ranking of Bordeaux's best wine-producing properties) are located here: Mouton Rothschild, Lafite Rothschild and Château Latour.

Bordeaux, in the southwest of France, needs little introduction as one of the world's most famous, prestigious and prolific wine regions. Its three trump cards are diversity, quality and quantity. The majority of Bordeaux wines (nearly 90 percent of production volume) are the dry, medium- and full-bodied red Bordeaux Blends that established its reputation. The finest (and most expensive) of these come from the great châteaux of the Haut-Médoc and the Right Bank appellations Saint-Émilion and Pomerol. The legendary reds are complemented by high-quality white wines, both dry styles (particularly from Pessac-Léognan) and the sweet, botrytized nectars of Sauternes.

A Bordeaux Blend is any combination of those grape varieties typically used to make the red wines of Bordeaux. Cabernet Sauvignon is widely accepted as a compulsory component of any Bordeaux Blend along with Merlot. In fact, the majority of Bordeaux Blend wines are often made exclusively from a blend of these two varieties. The remaining components are Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec.