For many years, Château Larcis Ducasse had been an underachiever. “Though it benefits from excellent terroir, Larcis Ducasse rarely lives up to its potential,” Robert Parker wrote in the 2003 edition of his Bordeaux book. Until this book’s publishing, the wines were consistently solid yet mostly unimpressive, revealing sparks of greatness in benevolent vintages and signs of Mother Nature getting the upper hand in the more challenging years.

The same family has owned Château Larcis Ducasse since Henri Raba purchased it in 1893. In 1990, Raba’s descendant Jacques-Olivier Gratiot took over the management of the estate on behalf of the family. Then in 2002, Jacques-Olivier hired Nicolas Thienpont to take over the management of the estate, working with David Suire as the technical director. Stephane Derenoncourt and his colleague Julien Lavenu were also brought in as consultant enologists. Together, they conducted extensive soil and vineyard studies to understand the place’s needs and adapt practices. At last, a team of worthy adversaries was in place, armed with the necessary know-how and means to take on Bordeaux’s capricious climate, to take the terroir of Larcis Ducasse to the limits of what it could do. 

The Larcis Ducasse vineyard has consisted of the same single block of 11 hectares since 1893. The plantings are roughly 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc. Cozied up next to Château Pavie, there are two blocks of Merlot on the limestone plateau, which make up about 15% of the total vineyard area. 

Selection in the vineyard—harvesting not just by block but by individual vines within plots—is a game-changer to ensure that everything that comes into the winery is at optimal ripeness.

I paused to taste the Merlot from a 65-year-old-vine to be harvested the next day on the Côte Pavie—a steep, south-facing slope of up to 25% grade, laid out in terraces above the Château and winery, where most of the vineyard is located. The berries are small yet nicely plump, with plenty of sweet juice and crunchy, toasty seeds without bitterness.

“Each terrace is different,” said Suire. “There’s a millefeuille of different soils—a mix of limestone and clay with more limestone than clay. In places, blue clay exists under the limestone.”

The bottom section of the vineyard is in the Pied de Côte, or the foot of the slope, where the incline is a gentler 2-5% grade, made up of a sandy clay mixture. 

Knowing is one thing but doing is another. Since 2002, the team behind Larcis Ducasse has got seriously strategic. Restructuring and replanting have been taking place throughout the vineyard, using massal selection, maintaining the vine density at a relatively high 8888 vines per hectare. In 2010, a second wine was introduced to elevate the level of the grand vin. And the cellar is being completely rebuilt.

All these measures have and will continue to help level the playing field against Mother Nature, now and for years to come. The proof is in the astonishingly good recent releases, especially the 2019 and 2020.

As we stood mid-vineyard looking up at the terraces towards the limestone plateau, Jacques-Olivier Gratiot, who had been quietly pensive until now, pressed a small, clam-shaped piece of limestone into my palm. 

“I found it in the vineyard not long ago,” he said. 

“It’s a fossil,” David Suire explained. “From when this land was under the sea.”

“For you,” Jacques-Olivier explained. “Keep it.” His smile brimmed with victory, as though finally he had conquered this sea.