Chāteau Larcis-Ducasse - St.-Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe 2019

Add to Wish List

98 Points, James Suckling "Baked-plum aromas., together with candied spices, earth, tobacco and light coffee, following through to a full body with firm yet polished tannins and a fresh, vivid finish. It really builds and shows loads of structure and intensity. Give it time to soften slightly, but the flavors and texture are already balanced and sophisticated. Classic style to this. The palate really builds."

Chāteau Larcis-Ducasse Description

Château Larcis Ducasse / SAINT-ÉMILION GRAND CRU / PREMIER GRAND CRU CLASSÉ

Château Larcis Ducasse, promoted to a Saint-Émilion Premier Grand Cru Classé status in 2012, has belonged to the Gratiot-Attmane family since 1893. Starting in 2002, Nicolas Thienpont and David Suire have perpetuated the family’s efforts to produce quality wines, assisted by consultants Stéphane Derenoncourt and Julien Lavenu.

Larcis Ducasse’s character is defined by its clay-limestone soil and south-facing sun-exposed slopes conducive to beautiful ripeness. The wines have a fresh, mineral flavour. Merlot and Cabernet Franc vines are planted according to the profile of each part of the vineyard. Work in the vineyard is done meticulously. Fermentation takes place gently and then the wine is aged in barrel for a duration adapted to each vintage. The final blend from this superb terroir results in delicious, elegant and magnificently balanced wines.

James Suckling: 98 Points

Baked-plum aromas., together with candied spices, earth, tobacco and light coffee, following through to a full body with firm yet polished tannins and a fresh, vivid finish. It really builds and shows loads of structure and intensity. Give it time to soften slightly, but the flavors and texture are already balanced and sophisticated. Classic style to this. The palate really builds.

Vinous: 96 Points

The 2019 Larcis Ducasse is magnificent. Deep and beautifully layered, the 2019 offers tons of youthful resonance wrapped into a super-classic frame. There is a feeling of translucence here that is so beguiling. Sweet dark cherry, tobacco, cedar, menthol and dried flowers are some of the many aromas and flavors that take shape over time. Regal and refined, with an elegant, polished finish, Larcis is magnificent in 2019. Aging in equal parts barrique and 500L tonneaux (which are rare in Bordeaux) helps preserve vibrancy. Larcis Ducasse might be the single most under the radar wine in all of Bordeaux!

Wine Advocate: 95 Points

The 2019 Larcis Ducasse has turned out beautifully, wafting from the glass with aromas of cherries, wild berries, burning embers, spices and licorice. Full-bodied, sumptuous and enveloping, with a fleshy core of fruit, ripe tannins and succulent acids, it's a giving, generous wine that's softer and rounder than Pavie Macquin, its stablemate. This beautiful vineyard, managed by Nicolas Thienpont, is located on the limestone slopes of Saint-Émilion, sandwiched between Pavie and Bellefont-Belcier.

Jeb Dunnuck: 94 Points

Coming from an incredible terroir on the Côte Pavie, which is a south-facing hillside of clay and limestone soils, the 2019 Château Larcis Ducasse sports a deep purple color as well as classic Saint-Emilion minerality in its chocolatey dark fruits, scorched earth, camphor, and tobacco aromas and flavors. This rich, full-bodied effort shows the more elegant, supple style of the vintage, yet it still has building tannins, a stacked mid-palate, and a great finish. It's certainly in the same ballpark as the 2015 and 2016, and while a few years of bottle age will do it well, it should be relatively accessible in its youth.