The Mille Feuille Matters: Château Larcis Ducasse, 1959 – 2023
The geology of St Emilion includes deposits from the Tertiary (Oligocene) and Quaternary periods. In general, the Tertiary deposits have a rather fine texture (clay and silt) and are very often calcareous.…
The Tertiary deposits are located in the center of the appellation. The base is composed of a soft and carbonate rock (limestone), called Molasses du Fronsadais. These molasses are covered with a hard limestone deposit called Calcaire à Astéries.
Professor Cornelius (Kees) van Leeuwen
Crus Classés de St Emilion, Éric Bernardin & Pierre Le Hong
(Éditions Sud Ouest, 2013)
I first met Kees van Leeuwen close to twenty years ago, when he held an office at Château Cheval Blanc. A renowned Dutch viticulturist best known for his work on terroir, climate and vineyard management, and Professor of Viticulture at Bordeaux Sciences Agro, he has long been one of the most influential voices speaking on terroir and viticulture in Bordeaux.
And he makes the terroir of St Emilion seem immediately understandable doesn’t he? In the text above Kees is speaking of St Emilion’s limestone plateau; chalky Molasses du Fronsadais at the bottom, and above that the harder fossil-rich Calcaire à Astéries, all deposited during the Oligocene epoch (i.e. from 34 to 23 million years ago – I struggle to remember all these different epochs and eras, so I am happy to add in a couple of dates).
Presumably, on top of that, there are a few inches of soil, and then vines. Job done.
Can it really be that simple though?
In a recent visit to Château Larcis Ducasse I was presented with a fresh interpretation of St Emilion’s terroir as viewed by long-term manager and winemaker, David Suire. A native of Cognac, David Suire trained in Bordeaux, a programme of study which included a stage with Nicolas Thienpont at Château Pavie-Macquin followed by a stint working alongside Paul Draper at Ridge Vineyards, before he returned to Bordeaux in 2002. He landed on his feet; within weeks of his return he had a job working with Nicolas looking after not only Pavie-Macquin but also Larcis Ducasse (and later on they would take on the management of other properties including, for a while, Bellevue and Beauséjour).
In 2024 Nicolas stepped back from his role at Larcis Ducasse, leaving David to run the estate on behalf of the owners, the Gratiot family. In truth I feel David had been taking the lead here for some time. He has thus been running this estate for more than two decades, and I doubt there is anybody in St Emilion who knows this particular section of the Côte de Pavie better than him.
Up the Côte
I arrived at Château Larcis Ducasse early one morning in July 2025. The temperature was already climbing steadily, the sun beating down on dry and unyielding earth. Remarkably, despite the shimmering heat haze and drought-like conditions, the vines looked to be in rude health.
