CHÂTEAU LARCIS DUCASSE
2013 Grand Cru Classé Saint Emilion
Like all Nicolas Thienpont's wines this year, this is extremely impressive. Creamy fruit and delicacy. Not quite the juice and floral aromatics of some of his junior wines (Puygueraud, Trimoulet), but then this has much more weight and solidity to it, and in the end the acidity does bring out the fruit on the finish which is long and subtle. 2019-2026 Rating: 91 L&S (Apr 2014)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2013, which I tasted three different times, showed consistently well on all occasions exhibiting a dense, ruby/plum purple color. It has a sweet kiss of black olive tapenade, licorice, blackcurrants, graphite and incense. The wine is medium-bodied and shows excellent concentration, a moderately long finish with relatively sweet tannin and decent acidity. This is a beauty and a testament to not only the brilliant terroir, but also the sure-handed vineyard management and wine making team. Rating: 88-91 Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, www.RobertParker.com (Aug 2014)
Good full red-ruby color. Classic Bordeaux aromas of blackcurrant, strawberry, tobacco leaf and graphite. Enters the mouths quite austere, with understated flavors of redcurrant, tobacco leaf and vanilla somewhat dominated by the oak element. Better on the finish today, showing a firm tannic spine, good grip and lovely, subtle floral persistence. This will almost certainly be better for another year or two of further development and I expect it to score at the high end of my range in 2016 when I'll retaste the bottled wine. Nicholas Thienpont himself was surprised at how steely and restrained this wine was on the day I tasted it with him. Rating: 86-89 Ian d'Agata - Stephen Tanzer website (May 2014)
There is fair depth of fruit on the nose with a sweet start to the palate. Towards the back red cherry refreshes with a brighter feel on the finish. 2017-26. Rating: 86-88 Derek Smedley MW, www.dereksmedleymw.co.uk (May 2014)
Rating: 88 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (May 2014)
(84 Merlot, 16 Cabernet Franc) Some smoother fruit than many but a little too slender and simple to be of any real interest. Rating: 15.5 Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Apr 2014)
A slightly cooked, currant edge to the nose here. Very high tannic grip. Lots of that damp sawdust character that plagues ‘natural’ wines on the finish. I’d be suspicious of this one. (RH) Drink 2016-2020. Rating: 15 Richard Hemming MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2014)
Bright crimson hue. Velvety texture. Tannins enrobed with fruit. Long, persistent finish. Pure and harmonious. Lovely wine. Drink: 2019-2030. Rating: 17.5 James Lawther MW, decanter.com (Apr 2014)
Racy, fresh and detailed, with lovely range to the cherry, currant and raspberry fruit, offset with echoes of singed anise, vanilla bean and rooibos tea on the finish. Very stylish. Rating: 89–92 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2014)
There is a purity of fruit to this lovely wine with raspberry and blueberry character. Full body, fine tannins and a fresh finish. Balanced. Rating: 91-92 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2014)
Château Larcis Ducasse
At the south-eastern extremes of the St Emilion plateau, the steeper hillsides crowned by Château Troplong Mondot are known as the Côte de Pavie and play host to some of St Emilion’s most exciting vineyards. Not least among them are the various Pavie châteaux, but this is also home to Château Larcis Ducasse. The Larcis name seems to have been used for a wider area of vineyard on the Côte, a lot of which is now part of Château Pavie, whilst the Ducasse comes from a one-time owner, one of several Duscasses to have made a mark in Bordeaux. Henri Raba purchased Château Larcis Ducasse in 1893 and the estate is still owned by his descendants today. Since 2002, Larcisse Ducasse has been managed by Nicolas Thienpont, who also manages Pavie-Macquin, and whose family are intimately woven into the fabric of modern St Emilion; he has been notably assisted by another St Emilion superstar Stéphane Derenencourt. The 11ha of vineyard are planted with 78% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Franc, with an average age of 35 years. The on-going success of Château Larcis Ducasse, and the quality of its terroir, was rewarded with the status of Premier Grand Cru Classé (B) status in the 2012 St Emilion Classification.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.