Château Larcis Ducasse is a French wine estate of

Bordeaux wine Bordeaux wine (; ) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city, the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the broad estuary called the Gironde; the Gi ...

which has the

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the ingredients of a food or beverage originated, most often used for the origin of wine grapes. Restrictions other than geographical boundaries, s ...

Saint-Émilion Saint-Émilion (; Gascon dialect, Gascon: ''Sent Milion'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in Southwestern France. In the heart of the country of Libournais (the area around Libourne), in a regio ...

, ranked ''Premier Grand cru classé B'' in the

Classification of Saint-Émilion wine In 1955, the Saint-Émilion AOC, wines of Saint-Émilion in the wine-growing region of Bordeaux wine, Bordeaux were classified. Unlike the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 covering wines from the Médoc and Graves (wine region), Grave ...

. The

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feat ...

is located in the Right Bank of France’s

Bordeaux wine region The wine regions of Bordeaux in France are a large number of wine growing areas, differing widely in size and sometimes overlapping, which lie within the overarching wine region of Bordeaux, centred on the city of Bordeaux and covering the whole ...

in the department

Gironde Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749.

History

In the 16th century Larcis Ducasse’s wines were extremely popular and already highly sought-after. Records show that in 1777 they were purchased at a very high price by Pierre Beylot. Then, in 1841, Lecoutre de Beauvais mentions Larcis as being one of the best Saint-Emilion crus. A few years later in 1867, a first gold medal from the International Exposition in Paris was awarded for the quality of the wines produced in this exceptional terroir. In 1893, Château Larcis Ducasse was purchased by Henry Raba – a direct descendant of a major Bordeaux ship-owning and merchant family based in Bordeaux from the 18th century. His passion led him to invest a significant portion of his fortune in maintaining this terraced vineyard and equipping the chateau with state-of-the art winery equipment. His son André took over upon his death in 1925. André then died during the war. He was childless, so his niece Hélène Gratiot Alphandéry inherited the property in 1941. She in her turn managed the property along with cellar-master Pharaon Roche and her son, Jacques Olivier Gratiot, director with l’Oréal and member of the Jurade, became manager in 1990. Today, Château Larcis Ducasse is still in the hands of the Gratiot Alphandéry family and since 2002 the property has been under the management of Nicolas Thienpont.

Production

The vineyard area is around 11 hectares, with the grape varieties of approximately 65%

Merlot Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...

, 25%

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux (wine), Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire (wine), Loire's C ...

and 10%

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...

References

External links

Château Larcis Ducasse official site
* https://www.nicolas-thienpont.com/en/vin/larcis-ducasse/ * https://www.bordeaux-tradition.com/en/vins/chateau-larcis-ducasse-2/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Chateau Larcis Ducasse Bordeaux wine Bordeaux wine producers Saint-Émilion wine