2018 Larcis Ducasse

I would count this as the vintage where the wider world sat up and took notice of what has been happening at Larcis Ducasse. It's poised, controlled, knitted down in its blackcurrant and bilberry fruits, but you feel the energy that flows through it, along with espresso, liquorice, black tea, and tons of fresh acidities that root it in the clay-limestone slopes. Owned by Famille Gratiot-Attmane, but with the Nicolas Thienpont team overseeing winemaking. I loved it En Primeur and it has only got better since.

The 2018 Larcis Ducasse has a charming, pretty bouquet of subtle floral scents of iris and peony as displayed in barrel. This is very well defined with mainly black fruit, though there is more blue fruit as it unfolds with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins. Interestingly, after an initial flourish, it seems to clam up with aeration and reveals a firm spine that ought to safeguard its longevity. Lovely saline notes come through on the finish, completing a very accomplished Larcis Ducasse that will require 4–5 years in bottle.