Château Fourcas Dupré: Tasting & Drinking
Within the Listrac-Médoc universe, there is no doubt that Château Fourcas Dupré is one of the leading properties, which I think of the ‘big five’ of the appellation, the other four being Fourcas Hosten, Fonréaud, Lestage and Clarke.
That this is one of the top estates has been evident for years. Writing in Moulis Listrac (Longman, 1990) Didier Ters had this to say of the estate:
“Successively a cru bourgeois supérieur, then a cru bourgeois exceptionnel, it is now worthy of Féret’s well-chosen words: “produces a wine of great merit”. The description is apposite for Fourcas Dupré owes everything to merit and nothing to chance. If you want to place a bet on a Listrac-Médoc wine do not forget this favourite. It may be rather slow at the start but always comes in among the winners at the finish, even after the longest races.”
I am not sure if Didier Ters spent a little too much time at Aintree or Ascot, but he is clearly a fan of the wines. I find the style of the grand vin very traditional for the left bank, despite the handsome contribution from Merlot and other varieties alongside Cabernet Sauvignon. Naturally they benefit greatly from a benevolent vintage, ergo my preference among older vintages for 2010, which showed very well.
The strength of other more recent vintages has of course helped the quality of the wines here, and good choices from recent years include 2020, 2018 and certainly 2016, with 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2019 are also worthy of consideration. I suspect to see things improve here under Jicquel though; after all, there has been no shortage on investment and revitalisation. The good quality seen in the 2025, 2023 and 2022 vintages is hopefully evidence of this.
As for the white wine this is admirable, and reflects a long and illustrious history of cultivating and vinifying white as well as red varieties in Listrac-Médoc. It is certainly worth a punt if you come across a bottle. I suspect it will age nicely, so give it four or five years (or perhaps more) in the cellar if the mood takes you. (13/7/17, updated 13/11/22, 24/7/26)
Disclosure: In June 2026 I was a guest at the inaugural dinner of the new cellars at Château Fourcas-Dupré.
