| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
This 10 hectare property is situated close to Pavie on the best south-facing slope in Saint Emilion. In 2002 Nicolas Thienpont and Stéphane Derenoncourt, of neighbouring Pavie Macquin, took control of both the vineyard and the winemaking. The wines here are impressively concentrated in style. The vineyard is planted with 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc.
A fleshy, opulent wine, the 2022 Larcis Ducasse bursts with aromas of rich, creamy berry fruit mingled with aromas of licorice, bay leaf and spices. Full-bodied, broad and enveloping, it's a textural, layered wine with a ripe core of fruit, supple tannins and an expansive finish. More dramatic and unabashed than the 2020, this will appeal to readers who place a premium on flamboyant extravagance; but samples tasted later during my visit to Bordeaux exhibited greater freshness and precision.
The 2022 Larcis Ducasse was picked 13 to 23 September at 34hL/ha. This has quite a rich bouquet with opulent black cherries, boysenberry and blue fruit, vanilla extract and truffle scents. Two samples tasted, the one at the château showing more precision. The palate is medium-bodied with sweet tannins, its flesh belying the structure underneath. Liquorice lingers after the wine has departed. The mineralité floods the finish and articulates its limestone soils with aplomb. This is a seriously fine Larcis Ducasse that exudes panache. 2030-2065
Larcis Ducasse is undergoing something of a transformation, slowly moving towards a more refreshing style. Slightly reductive on the nose, there is bright fruit here but it sits underneath a sweet, lightly candied note. The palate is sweet and slightly jammy, but energetic and driven. Iron-like depth, smoky and chewy, there is extract and grip on the back end that is lightly drying. Despite this, there is an admirable shift happening here, the wine improving with each vintage.
This is really precise with a lazer-guided fine tannin structure throughout the wine, and juicy and electric texture. It’s so refined and polished. Endless. Wonderful young wine with a terrific future.
A blend of 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 3% Cabernet Franc, the 2022 Larcis Ducasse is deep garnet-purple in color. It wows as it powers out of the glass with bright, expressive notes of juicy blackberries, fresh black cherries, and warm plums, followed by suggestions of Indian spices, iron ore, iris bulb, and crushed rocks. The full-bodied palate is laden with rich, seductive, and amazingly energetic black and blue fruits, framed by super-ripe, velvety tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing with epic length. This 2022 is a triumph!
You feel the fingerprint of the limestone here, from a team that is never afraid of austerity in a young wine is young. It opens to show creamy black and red fruits, with steely acidity that keeps the ripeness in check. 34hl/h yield, 50% new oak and for the rest 500l casks for ageing.
Tasted on multiple occasions and one of the legendary wines in the making from this vintage, the 2022 Château Larcis Ducasse clocks in as 86% Merlot and 14% Cabernet Franc that's still resting in 55% new French oak. A hypothetical blend of the 2005 and 2018, it's a deep, powerful, opulent Saint-Emilion offering an incredible array of black cherries, blackberries, smoked tobacco, chocolate, and graphite-driven aromas and flavors. With a rich, full-bodied, expansive mouthfeel, it has ultra-fine tannins, beautiful symmetry in its tannins, acidity, and fruit, no hard edges, and a killer finish. I was lucky enough to taste this on four separate occasions and I thought it had the potential to be a perfect wine every time.
