Chateau Larcis Ducasse Premier Grand Cru Classe B, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2016

The aromas here are so spellbinding with shitake mushrooms, wet earth and moss, as well as tree bark and, finally, dark fruit. The palate is incredible as it builds and grows with full body, but always tight and reserved. It shows so much depth and complexity. Please try not to touch this until 2025.

The 2016 Larcis Ducasse is absolutely gorgeous. Fresh, vibrant and alluring, with tremendous vibrancy, the 2016 has so much to offer. Expressive savory and blood orange notes add brightness to the red cherry and plum fruit, with beams of firm yet well-integrated tannins that give the wine its shape and energy. In 2016, Larcis brings together undeniable raciness and power in a complete package that is irresistibly beautiful. Give it a few years in bottle for the tannins to soften.

From one of my favorite estates in Bordeaux, the deeply colored 2016 Château Larcis Ducasse is comprised of 87% Merlot and 13% Cabernet Franc that was brought up in 50% new French oak. It offers a huge bouquet of black, black fruits, smoked herbs, forest floor, graphite, and underbrush that builds beautifully with time in the glass. Deep, rich, opulent and expansive on the palate, with building tannins, it’s a rich, layered Saint-Emilion as well as another incredible wine from this estate. Give it a few years if you can. It’s capable of keeping for three decades or more.

The 2016 Larcis Ducasse is a blend of 87% Merlot and 13% Cabernet Franc. An opaque garnet-black in color, it requires a fair amount of swirling before erupting with a profound perfume of blueberry preserves, ripe black plums, juicy blackberries, and dark chocolate, leading to nuances of licorice, espresso, fertile loam, and Indian spices, plus a hint of black truffles. The densely laden, full-bodied palate is still very tightly wound at this stage, giving peeks at the layers of minerals, exotic spices, and fragrant earth notes intertwined with the generous black fruits, backed by firm, rounded tannins and amazing tension, finishing with epic length. While the richness and quality of the tannins make this an irresistibly delicious drink now, try to keep your hands off it for another decade and then drink it over the next 30 years+.

This is ripe and well extracted, tight, firm and a little austere, with a note of bitter dark chocolate. It's fresh on the finish, benefitting from its location on the limestone plateau with deeper clay cover in parts of the vineyard, hence the high 95% level of Merlot. This is complemented by 4.5% Cabernet Franc and 0.5% Cabernet Sauvignon with a yield of 48hl/ha, representing 47% of overall production in 2016. Drinking Window 2027 - 2050.

The 2016 Larcis-Ducasse has a very well-defined bouquet of blackberry, briar and light violet aromas that seem to convey more energy than Pavie-Macquin. The medium-bodied palate delivers rounded, juicy tannins that frame the concentrated tarry black fruit. But maybe like Pavie-Macquin, this is just missing a little tension and detail on the finish that will be restored with bottle age. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.