Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste

The estate

The name is a place and a man: Grand-Puy is the rise, Lacoste was the proprietor. William Franck, whose Traité sur les vins du Médoc first appeared in 1824, gives him his first name in the Pauillac tables of his editions of 1845 and 1853, François Lacoste at Grand-Puy, making 70 to 80 tonneaux (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels), and the edition of 1853 adds that the estate was formerly called Saint-Guirons. The first building on the domain dates from 1737, and the château took its present form under Pierre-Frédéric Lacoste in 1855, the year of the classification, when the estate had 52 hectares of vines.

The modern reputation belongs to 2 men. Raymond Dupin bought Grand-Puy-Lacoste in 1932 and made its name through the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. François-Xavier Borie took over in the summer of 1978, at first under his father, Jean-Eugène, and Dupin died in 1980 knowing the château was lived in again. Stainless steel vats went in for the 1981 vintage, and Lacoste-Borie was created in 1982 as a second wine for the young vines. François-Xavier and Marie-Hélène Borie own the estate with their children, and Emeline and Pierre-Antoine Borie are its managing directors.

The estate holds 90 hectares of land, 64 of them planted at 10,000 vines a hectare, which is 1 vine to the square meter, with vines 38 years old on average: 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. About 140,000 bottles are made a year, aged 16 to 18 months in oak, 75% of it new. Christel Spinner is director of research and development and oenologist, Benoît Estassy cellar master and Antonio Flores vineyard manager, with Éric Boissenot as consultant.

At a glance

Appellation

Pauillac

Classification

Cinquième Cru Classé 1855; MICHELIN Guide, 1 grape (2026)

Owners

François-Xavier and Marie-Hélène Borie and their children, since 1978; Emeline and Pierre-Antoine Borie, managing directors

Direction

Benoît Estassy, cellar master; Antonio Flores, vineyard manager

Consultant

Éric Boissenot

Oenologist

Christel Spinner, also director of research and development

Vineyard

90 hectares of land, 64 planted; 10,000 vines a hectare; vines 38 years old on average

Grapes

Cabernet Sauvignon 75%, Merlot 20%, Cabernet Franc 5%

Cellar

Stainless steel vats since 1981; 16 to 18 months in oak, 75% new

Production

About 140,000 bottles a year

Wines

Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste; Lacoste-Borie, since 1982

In history

François Lacoste at Grand-Puy, 70 to 80 tonneaux, in 1845 and 1853; formerly Saint-Guirons; 52 hectares of vines in 1855

Sources: Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste, the château · Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux, Grand-Puy-Lacoste · CIVB, the classifications of 1855 · Decanter, a matter of class: Grand-Puy-Lacoste