Château Larcis Ducasse, 2025
Château Larcis Ducasse, 2025
- 75cl
- 14%
- Red Still
- Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon
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Est. delivery in 2028
Château Larcis Ducasse sits on Saint-Émilion's limestone plateau, crafting wines that marry the appellation's signature Merlot richness with remarkable mineral precision. This Grand Cru Classé estate has found its stride under Nicolas Thienpont's guidance, producing wines that capture both the immediate charm and long-term complexity that make Right Bank Bordeaux so compelling.
What the critics say:
"The 2025 Larcis Ducasse is another exceptional wine from one of the most under-the-radar estates in Saint-Émilion. Dark red-fleshed fruits, rose petal, lavender, mocha, licorice, sage and graphite are all seamless in the glass. The 2025 marries power with finesse to a degree that is exceptionally rare. Lively acids and lifted floral overtones brighten the long, resonant finish. The 2025 spent 23-24 days on skins, a bit shorter than most years. Élevage takes place in 40% French oak barrels, 40% 500-liter barrels and 20% 25-hectoliter foudre. Wines from clay-based soils tend to be raised in barrique to soften them, while wines from limestone-rich soils are naturally more delicate and typically aged in larger-format wood. Larcis was one of the first properties in Bordeaux to introduce large-format wood, a choice that works so well for this site and these wines. This is a stellar effort from Technical Director David Suire, who has been at the helm since 2022. Tasted three times."
"Matured 40% in barrels (50% new), 45% in large-format barrels (also 50% new) and the balance in foudres, the 2025 Larcis Ducasse reveals an elegant, vibrant and gourmand bouquet of violet, dark berries, dark cherries and flowers, accented by delicate spicy notes. Medium- to full-bodied, layered and seamless, it’s built around a ripe—yet not overripe—core of fruit framed by velvety tannins, concluding with a floral, harmonious and ethereal finish. This is a pure expression of Larcis Ducasse and one of the most accomplished renditions produced here to date."
"Right at the top of the vintage here, full of character and depth, clear intensity and acidity, has the sword-like limestone touch of the vintage but so well shaped and handled. Toasted grilled campfire and bilberry and cassis puree, great quality, rosemary, redcurrant, liquorice. 3.5 pH. Harvest September 10 to 28. 50% new oak."
The vineyard occupies prime real estate on Saint-Émilion's limestone plateau, with vines planted over the famous astéries limestone that defines the appellation's greatest sites. This shallow topsoil over deep limestone bedrock provides excellent drainage whilst forcing roots deep for minerals, creating wines with both richness and remarkable precision. The plateau's elevation and limestone composition naturally regulate vine vigour, concentrating flavours and adding the distinctive mineral backbone that makes these wines age so gracefully.
Saint-Émilion Grand Cru represents the pinnacle of Right Bank Bordeaux, where Merlot reigns supreme over the region's limestone and clay soils. The classification system, unique in Bordeaux, undergoes review every decade, ensuring estates maintain their standards through rigorous tasting and vineyard assessment. Unlike the Left Bank's Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated blends, Saint-Émilion's wines typically offer earlier charm whilst possessing serious ageing potential, making them more approachable in youth than their Médoc counterparts.
The 2025 Bordeaux vintage emerged from one of the most demanding growing seasons in recent memory — the earliest budbreak since 1989, June temperatures second only to 2003 since records began, and an unusually early harvest beginning in August for the whites. Conditions that should have produced heavy, overripe wines. They didn't. Decanter's Georgie Hindle, who tasted close to 200 wines ahead of the formal campaign, describes "exceptional concentration, aromatic purity and a freshness that contradicts the record-breaking heat.
The early critical consensus places 2025 stylistically between the precision of 2020 and the structure of 2016, with the brightness of 2023 — a combination that suggests a very serious vintage indeed. Yields are dramatically low, the smallest crop since 1991, with production across the Gironde running around 15% below the five-year average. The quality is here. There simply isn't very much of it.
OUR GROWERS
Château Larcis Ducasse
