Château Grand-Puy-Ducasse
The story of Château Grand-Puy-Ducasse is naturally intertwined with that of Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste, the two estates both originating from one large domaine which existed during the Middle Ages. This estate incorporated the Grand Puy (puy being one of many words which refer to a hill or mound), the gravel mound which sits in the western reaches of the Pauillac appellation; this is one of the many gravel croupes on which rest the great estates of the Médoc communes. Driving north towards and through the Pauillac vineyards, on either the D2 or the D206, it is difficult to perceive the existence of this puy and plateau. Perhaps the best way to appreciate it is to come in from the west, from Artigues, along the Rue de la Grotte. Once you have passed beneath the railway bridge the road curves round and Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste comes into view, atop an imposing tidal wave of gravel, with more undulating gravel to your left, and the road begins to climb.
Grand Puy, indeed.
Despite clearly declaring its association with the Grand Puy, though, it would be wrong to assume this is where all the vineyards are to be found. Château Grand-Puy-Ducasse is one of the more parcellated of the 61 grands crus classés estates on the Médoc. Yes, there are a couple of large parcels here, to the west of the vineyards of Grand-Puy-Lacoste and Batailley, on the very periphery of the Pauillac appellation. These vines sit just north of Sainte-Anne, where a number of the appellation’s most famous names – Latour, Pichon Baron, Pichon Comtesse and Lynch-Bages – have vines. Other parcels are more distant though, in at least four other zones; a small group of parcels lies at the heart of the d’Armailhac vineyards, to the north; another lies sandwiched between Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Croizet-Bages and Lynch-Bages, just west of the town of Pauillac; other parcels lie scattered around the village of Artigues, also in the western parts of the appellation; and the remainder lie on the western section of the Saint-Lambert plateau, just north of the vines belonging to Latour, Pichon Baron and Pichon Comtesse.
Perhaps this parcellated nature has contributed to this property’s lack of identity? The fact that the château and winemaking facilities sit in the heart of the town of Pauillac, on the quayside, divorced from the vineyards, may also be significant in this regard. In recent years, however, this property has raised both quality and profile; under the current owners the buildings have been given an extensive upgrade and makeover, and the wines are undeniably much improved. Today, this property produces a classically styled example of Pauillac worth following.
Origins
The first identified proprietor of this grand estate, which also included some of the land currently part of Château Lynch-Bages, was a gentleman named Guiraud. It is tempting to think this man must also have had ownership of Château Guiraud in Sauternes, although it isn’t the case, that château having been named for Pierre Guiraut, who only acquired it in 1766. The Guiraud of Grand-Puy-Ducasse had two daughters, one of whom married a gentleman named Labégorce, the other a local Conseiller in the Bordeaux parliament named Déjean. The estate seems to have passed to the latter couple, as by 1728 the property was in the hands of a Bernard Déjean. It was at this time that Bernard sold off a section of the vineyard to Pierre Drouillard, these vines ultimately becoming the modern-day vineyard of Château Lynch-Bages.
