Anson: Eight decades of Château Larcis Ducasse

St-Émilion is an appellation with such a myriad of expressions that it can be hard to pin down. Its soils are so diverse that it makes sense that it is the only part of Bordeaux to specifically use terroir as a criteria for ranking its wines.

Larcis Ducasse was one of the beneficiaries of this system in 2012, when it was promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classé B in the latest round of the classification. But, as it is also a château that has been in the same family since 1893, it’s probably worth asking why the promotion to the upper levels of the ranking took so long?

Scroll down for Jane Anson’s Larcis Ducasse vertical tasting notes and scores

One potential answer to this was given by sommelier Terry Kandylis at a recent tasting that covered 24 vintages of Larcis Ducasse stretching from 1945 through to 2016. ‘People are part of terroir, and verticals like this puts that into perspective’. And as the tasting was organised not by vintage but by theme, grouping together different styles, it provided a fascinating way to peel back the layers and balance terroir impact against winemaking and weather.

The themes (and tasting order) were:

Rooted Larcis (cooler vintages, years that are marked by the terroir): 1966, 1983, 2004, 2012, 2017

Saline Larcis (where the limestone soils really shine through); 1961, 1962, 1988, 2008, 2014

Eastern-influenced Larcis (hot vintages where exotic, spiced notes are clear): 1945, 1959, 1990, 2005, 2009, 2015

Radiant Larcis (where they feel the perfect balance was reached): 1967, 1971, 1989, 1998, 2010, 2016

Larcis has marked differences to its soils, something that means plot-by-plot viticulture and winemaking is essential. There are also several natural water sources underground (villagers used to come here to draw water in times of drought, for example) that help make it among the cooler soils of St-Émilion. Winemakers have to balance 10% clay-limestone soil over an extremely hard limestone subsoil up on the plateau, where salinity and freshness is a signature, but where overly austere wines can be produced in cooler vintages.

Next to this, the majority of the vineyard – around 55% – is on south-facing terraces and slopes (that reach up to 25% in gradient) that have more clay content along with the limestone and are therefore more powerful. A final 35% sits on clay-loam, on the lower slopes, where the iron-rich soils give richness and the yield is naturally around double than of the limestone top and from where since 2010 the grapes have gone into a second wine.

All of this again means that paying attention in the vineyard and cellar is key. And although the owning family has been constant, the estate has long been run by directors with the owners (Rabat then Gratiot) living in Paris – something that is usually more common on the Left Bank of Bordeaux. For the wines covered here, this meant Pharaon Roche until 1978 (the man who oversaw the move to entire chateau bottling in 1972, the year that it became a legal obligation), then Philippe Dubois until 2002, and now Nicolas Thienpont with David Suire as technical director and consultants Stéphane Derenoncourt and Julien Lavenu.

This is a team that has honed its skills at, among other places, Pavie Macquin, and its impact is clear. A clear shift can be seen with their arrival, coming through to the wines within a couple of years. Straight away in 2002 they added drainage channels and pulled up the Cabernet Sauvignon that always had trouble ripening in these cool soils, and replaced it with massal-selection Cabernet Franc. At the same time they moved the Cabernet Franc off the plateau and replaced it with Merlot, part of a 40 year vineyard replanting plan. They also lengthened the harvest to a number of weeks rather than two or three days, ensuring that each section of the vineyard was allowed to fully ripen. And on picking, they kept the grapes whole instead of crushing them to minimize oxidation.

Tracking these through the years was fascinating, but the truly interesting thing was seeing how the changes in both personnel and philosophy magnified but didn’t alter the fundamental nature of the wine. Choosing to lay the tasting out by style of vintage helped underline the essential character of this particular spot, a clear reminder of the ability of St-Émilion to translate terroir in the glass.

Larcis Ducasse in figures

Vineyard size: 11.95ha

Grapes grown: 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc

Owners: Family Gratiot Attman; currently Jacques-Olivier Gratiot with daughter Ariane Gratiot-Vacheron – direct descendants of Henri Raba who purchased Larcis Ducasse in 1893.

Key contacts: Nicolas Thienpont (manager), David Suire (winemaker)

Vine density: 6,000 vines/ha, re-planted at 7,500 vines/ha

Soil type: 10% plateau of clay-limestone on chalk, 55% terraces with southerly aspect with thin clay-silt soil on chalk, 25% clay-limestone of alluvial origin in the slope, 10% sandy clay at base of slope.

Average age of vines: 35 years

Aging: 16 to 18 months in barrels

Barrels: 75% new, 25% 1 year old

2nd wine: Murmure de Larcis Ducasse

See Jane Anson’s Larcis Ducasse vertical tasting notes and scores

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