2012 Château Grand-Puy-Ducasse

Château Grand-Puy Ducasse is a Fifth Growth estate in Pauillac. It is named for its 17th-century founder, Arnaud Ducasse, and was owned by the Ducasse family through part of the 20th century. In 2004 it became a part of CA Grands Crus, a subsidiary of the bank Groupe Credit Agricole. The 99-acre estate grows 62% Cabernet Sauvignon and 38% Merlot. Its second wine is Prelude a Grand-Puy Ducasse. Up to 140,000 bottles of the flagship wine are produced annually.

Pauillac is Bordeaux’s most famous appellation, thanks to the fact that it is home to three of the region’s fabled first-growth châteaux, Lafite-Rothschild, Mouton-Rothschild and Latour. Perched on the left bank of the Gironde River north of the city of Bordeaux, Pauillac is centered around the commune of Pauillac and includes about 3,000 acres of vineyards. The Bordeaux classification of 1855 named 18 classified growths, including the three above mentioned First Growths. Cabernet Sauvignon is the principal grape grown, followed by Merlot. The soil is mostly sandy gravel mixed with marl and iron. Robert M. Parker Jr. has written that “the textbook Pauillac would tend to have a rich, full-bodied texture, a distinctive bouquet of black currants, licorice and cedary scents, and excellent aging potential.”