Chateau Larcis Ducasse Premier Grand Cru Classe B, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2019

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. Try after 2026.

The 2019 Larcis Ducasse, a blend of 88% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc, is deep garnet-purple in color. Notes of redcurrant jelly, blackberry preserves, and black raspberries leap from the glass, followed by hints of licorice and pencil shavings. The full-bodied palate is laden with muscular, savory-laced fruits, supported by grainy tannins, finishing on a lingering mineral note.

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!

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.

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.

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.

Coffee and liquorice on the nose with some dark chocolate and black cherries. Wow, a deep, dark style here, majoring on liquorice but just gently spicy and quite savoury with some truffle and cedar notes. Really well defined, this has a lovely precision to it - you can feel the polish. Tannins are quite mouth filling and this feels like a fairly serious wine with so much potential. Potent is the word, with such a long lasting flavour. Needs time to come around but will be excellent.

Moving to the Grand Vin, the 2019 Château Larcis Ducasse sports a deep ruby/plum color as well as a reserved bouquet of ripe black cherries, leafy tobacco, graphite, and damp earth. Medium to full-bodied and nicely concentrated, with clean, ripe tannins, it's holding things relatively close to its vest and is going to benefit from 5-7 years of bottle age. I don't see it matching the greats from this estate, but it's a beautiful wine. The blend is 88% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc, and there are just under 3,000 cases produced.