Château Larcis Ducasse: Vineyards
Château Larcis Ducasse is located to the southeast of St Emilion, to the east of Château Pavie, on the Côte de Pavie. Neighbours include, up on the slopes above, Château Pavie-Decesse (now defunct of course, the vineyard having been absorbed into Château Pavie since 2022, but the micro-château stille sits there), Château Troplong-Mondot and Château Bellevue-Mondotte (also defunct, for the same reason as Pavie-Decesse). Continuing along the côte to the east of Château Larcis Ducasse and we find Château Bellefont-Belcier.
The domaine covers 11.3 hectares altogether, the vines planted on all points of the slope. Of the total, 85% of the vines are positioned on the côte itself, while the remaining 15% are situated above and below, with a sliver of vineyard on the plateau above, and a parcel of vines below the road at the foot of the property.
Terroir matters here, and David Suire divides the vineyard into four sections, each with a distinctive style. He believes the style of each quarter can come though in the finished wine, with different parcels more dominant in the flavour profile in different vintages.
Beginning on the plateau, limestone naturally dominates, and here the rock in question is the desirable Calcaire à Astéries, although it is more formally described as Calcaire de Castillon in publications from the Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières. David Suire attributes elements of freshness and salinity to these soils. Of note, there is a layer of rich blue clay here (which naturally attracts comparisons with Petrus), sandwiched between layers of limestone.
