Larcis Ducasse 2019

St Emilion, Grand Cru Classé

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Tasting Notes

The 2019 Larcis-Ducasse is classically-styled on the nose with tobacco and cedar infusing the black fruit, a little austere at first, yet there is a sense of stature. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, slightly candied in style but there is commendable structure behind this Saint-Émilion with a dash of black pepper on the finish. Exquisite. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.

Score: 95

Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2025-2045 01 February 2023

The 2019 Larcis Ducasse is deep purple in colour. The bouquet is opulent and ravishing with precocious dark cherry, cassis and crushed violet aromas that seem to envelop the senses, "hug them into submissions!" The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins that manage to exert good grip, though you only notice that after the wine has exited. Great depth, touches of ash and black pepper infusing the black fruit with unerring balance on the finish. This is an outstanding Saint-Émilion with 30-40 years of pleasure to give.

Score: 95 - 97

Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2024-2055 16 June 2020

The 2019 Larcis Ducasse is deep purple in colour. The bouquet is opulent and ravishing with precocious dark cherry, cassis and crushed violet aromas that seem to envelop the senses, "hug them into submissions!" The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins that manage to exert good grip, though you only notice that after the wine has exited. Great depth, touches of ash and black pepper infusing the black fruit with unerring balance on the finish. This is an outstanding Saint-Émilion with 30-40 years of pleasure to give.

Score: 95 - 97

Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2024-2055 01 June 2020

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!

Score: 96

Antonio Galloni, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2029-2059 01 February 2022

The 2019 Larcis Ducasse is a Saint-Émilion of energy and tension. Graphite, menthol, licorice, tobacco and cedar notes open up in the bouquet. On the palate, though, the 2019 is much more reticent. That is likely a very good thing for its long-term prospect. One of the features of Larcis is the use of 500-liter barrels (which are rarely seen in Bordeaux) for certain parcels. Those larger barrels certainly add to the wine's freshness and verve. Larcis is one of the more introverted 2019s I tasted. It is also one of Bordeaux's most under the radar gems.

Score: 94 - 96

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com 01 June 2020

Extreme in all the right ways - in the verticality, the salinity, the density, the forward motion and the stretching out through the palate. But it is also mouthwatering and drinkable, with a ton of blueberry and raspberry puree fruits alongside still austere tannins. Love it. Owned by the Gratiot-Attmane family, made by the Nicolas Thienpont team. 38.5hl/ha yield.

Score: 95

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2027-2044 26 January 2022

This is intense, pretty austere as is often the case with a young Larcis Ducasse, and very much with Cabernet fruits dominant even though they are 12% of the blend (it is rather that the Merlot on these limestone soils takes on a depth and seriousness that makes it almost Left Bank in feel). Opens up to reveal fleshy cassis and blackberry. A yield of 38.5hl/ha. Owned by Famille Gratiot-Attmane, but with the Nicolas Thienpont team overseeing winemaking. Tasted twice, one week apart.

Score: 94

Jane Anson, Decanter.com Maturity: 2027 - 2044 14 May 2020

Composed of 88% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc, the 2019 Larcis Ducasse was harvested from the 25th of September to the 7th of October. Yields were 38.5 hectoliters per hectare this year, with around 70% of production going into the grand vin. Deep garnet-purple in color, it sails out of the glass with effortlessly graceful notes of fresh blackberries, warm red and black plums and mulberries plus hints of cedar chest, potpourri, powdered cinnamon and clove oil. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is quite tightly wound, giving glimpses of spice and mineral layers among the black fruits and firm, rounded tannins, finishing with bags of freshness and energy. About 2,850 cases are anticipated to be made.

Score: 95 - 97

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com 18 June 2020

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.

Score: 95 - 97

Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com 11 June 2020

A full-bodied red that’s powerful, very rich and very deep. Floral and spicy with dried fruit, earth, tobacco and mushrooms. Dense center palate. Great depth. Traditional.

Score: 98 - 99

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com 28 May 2020