Appellations

Larcis Ducasse 2022

St Emilion, Grand Cru Classé

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Tasting Notes

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.

Score: 98 - 100 Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com Date: 05 October 2023

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.

Score: 95 - 97 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2030-2065 Date: 16 May 2023

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.

Score: 96 Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2030-2042 Date: 11 May 2023

The 2022 Larcis Ducasse is a huge, inky wine. A firm backbone of structure lies behind all of that opulence, yielding a wine that is both extravagantly rich and super-classic. That’s a pretty appealing combination in my book. Dark red-toned fruit, spice, leather, tobacco, incense and mocha emerge, but only with great reluctance. The 2022 is packed to the core. I don’t imagine it will be ready to drink anytime soon, but is unquestionably one of the wines of the vintage. The blend is 84% Merlot and 16% Cabernet Franc, a bit more Franc than usual, aging in equal parts 225- and 500-liter barrels. Tasted four times.

Score: 96 - 98 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2032-2062 Date: 09 May 2023

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.

Score: 94 - 95 William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Date: 28 April 2023

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.

Score: 98 - 99 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com Date: 13 April 2023