2020 Larcis Ducasse
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Tasting notes
This is a wine full of contradictions of the best kind. It is both super ripe in its fruit character, while beneath lies a more savoury, chalky, mineral underpinning that brings much needed freshness, leaving the palate balanced and salivating. Initially the tannins feel a little soft but with time in the glass they become more vibrant and structural. Sultanas, dry spice and incense aromas, with even a slightly Port-like brandy note, make up a complex nose. The tannins are very resolved, almost seamless – then the limestone freshness comes through, providing a lovely breadth to the palate. The fruit is sweet black plum with additional clove spice. There are earthy, savoury elements too, adding further flavour complexity.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Inviting but partly hidden black fruit, pure yet subdued. Chewy, dense, compact tannins filled out by the black fruit. Big, powerful, balanced. (JH)
The 2020 Larcis Ducasse has a pure bouquet with mainly red berry fruit, sage, rosemary and touches of freshly tilled loam. It flirts with overripeness—only flirts. The palate is medium-bodied, vibrant and lightly spiced, with fine tannins and a concentrated, slightly viscous finish. This is a long-term prospect and a wine of real class. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.
A beautiful effort that's more sensual and seamless than Thienpont's more structured, brooding Pavie Macquin, the 2020 Larcis Ducasse unwinds in the glass with aromas of cherries, blackberries, bay leaf, rose petals and licorice. Medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated, with refined tannins, lively acids and a suave, fleshy profile, it concludes with a long, expansive finish. This is a particular success in 2020.
About the producer
Over the last two decades, Nicolas Thienpont and David Suire have forged this estate’s reputation – crafting increasingly impressive wines from its 11 hectares of south-facing slopes on clay-limestone soils.