Chateau Larcis Ducasse 2016

JEB DUNNUCK: "From one of my favorite estates in Bordeaux, the deeply colored 2016 Château Larcis Ducasse is comprised of 87% Merlot and 13% Cabernet Franc that was brought up in 50% new French oak. It offers a huge bouquet of black, black fruits, smoked herbs, forest floor, graphite, and underbrush that builds beautifully with time in the glass. Deep, rich, opulent and expansive on the palate, with building tannins, it’s a rich, layered Saint-Emilion as well as another incredible wine from this estate. Give it a few years if you can. It’s capable of keeping for three decades or more."

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "The 2016 Larcis Ducasse is a blend of 87% Merlot and 13% Cabernet Franc. An opaque garnet-black in color, it requires a fair amount of swirling before erupting with a profound perfume of blueberry preserves, ripe black plums, juicy blackberries, and dark chocolate, leading to nuances of licorice, espresso, fertile loam, and Indian spices, plus a hint of black truffles. The densely laden, full-bodied palate is still very tightly wound at this stage, giving peeks at the layers of minerals, exotic spices, and fragrant earth notes intertwined with the generous black fruits, backed by firm, rounded tannins and amazing tension, finishing with epic length. While the richness and quality of the tannins make this an irresistibly delicious drink now, try to keep your hands off it for another decade and then drink it over the next 30 years+."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Full bodied, luxurious, deep, fresh and sweet, the wine has power, purity, minerality and length. There is concentration, complexity and on the finish, it is incredibly polished and silky with layers of fruit and persistence. Made from a blend of 87% Merlot, harvested October 12 to October 20 and 13% Cabernet Franc, picked on October 18 and 19, the wine reached 14.4% ABV with a pH of 3.45."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Larcis Ducasse sashays gracefully out of the glass with beautiful Black Forest cake, red cherry compote, raspberry preserves and blackberry pie scents plus hints of cigar box, Ceylon tea, dried lavender and forest floor. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers gorgeous red and black fruit preserves flavors with a wonderfully plush texture and very long, perfumed finish."

WINE SPECTATOR: "Features a lovely profile, with caressing edges but a very focused feel, as cassis, plum reduction and blueberry preserve flavors stream through together, flanked by dark tea and singed apple wood notes. A bolt of chalk emerges steadily through the finish, keeping this well-grounded. This will need some time to unwind fully. Best from 2023 through 2038."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, fester Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung, Lakritze, schwarze Beeren, zart balsamisch, etwas Nougat, floraler Anklang. Saftig, engmaschig, reife Herzkirschen, integrierte Tannine, sehr frisch und lange anhaltend, mineralischer Nachhall, feiner Schokotouch im Rückgeschmack."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "This perfumed wine is rich in black fruits bursting with juicy berry flavors and acidity. A dry core promises both good aging potential and great fruitiness. The silky structure is developing well and the wine should be ready to drink from 2024."

DECANTER: "This is ripe and well extracted, tight, firm and a little austere, with a note of bitter dark chocolate. It's fresh on the finish, benefitting from its location on the limestone plateau with deeper clay cover in parts of the vineyard, hence the high 95% level of Merlot. This is complemented by 4.5% Cabernet Franc and 0.5% Cabernet Sauvignon with a yield of 48hl/ha, representing 47% of overall production in 2016."

WEINWISSER: "Sattes Purpur mit violettem Rand. Rotbeerige Konturen mit Rosenholz und Johannisbeeren, dahinter heller Tabak und Baumnuss. Am engmaschigem Körper sehr straff geschnitten, muskulös, endet im langen Finale mit viel Preiselbeeren."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Tasted blind. Rich and round. Neat and lively. Long and vibrant. Super-correct and pleasurable. Lots of fruit and tannins for future development."