Château Grand-Puy Ducasse 2018, Pauillac 5ème Cru Classé, Bordeaux

Château Grand-Puy Ducasse is the grand vin of this Pauillac Fifth Growth, classified in 1855. Its vines are spread across three large parcels in the north, centre and south of the appellation, with Cabernet Sauvignon on Garonne gravels and Merlot on sandier gravels. The blend is typically around 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot. Grapes are harvested by hand, sorted in the vineyard and again in the cellar, and fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks before ageing in French oak barrels, with around 40% new oak.

Château Grand-Puy Ducasse Pauillac has the power and classic profile of its appellation. The nose shows blackcurrant, blackberry and cedar, with graphite, tobacco and a touch of vanilla from the oak. The palate is full bodied and concentrated, with powerful, well-structured tannins and a long, savoury finish.

Serve with roast lamb, beef fillet, game such as venison or wild duck, or a mature Cheddar. Serve at 17–18°C and decant for an hour or two if drinking it young. Château Grand-Puy Ducasse needs a few years to soften: it drinks well from around seven or eight years after the vintage and will keep for 15–20 years.

Château Grand-Puy Ducasse is a Fifth Growth (5ème Cru Classé) of Pauillac in the 1855 Classification. The Ducasse family arrived in the area in the early 18th century, and Pierre Ducasse built up the vineyard, including parts of the gravelly Grand-Puy rise, before his death in 1797; the château itself followed in 1820. After decline in the early 20th century the estate was revived from 1932, and restructured and modernised from the 1970s. Since 2004 it has been owned by CA Grands Crus. Its roughly 40 hectares are split into three large parcels, bordering Mouton Rothschild, Lafite and Pontet-Canet to the north, on the Grand-Puy rise in the centre and on the Saint-Lambert plateau to the south.