David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.0

On the nose; dark currants, stewed styled blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, blueberries top nose, black raspberries, strawberries haunt here & there, semi-sweet tarry notes, dark chocolate, dry clay, loamy dry top soil, leather, lead pencil shavings, cedar, black tea, decayed red florals with fresh violets.

The palate is full bodied. Tannins rounded, dusty and 40% resolved. The structure is still big & bold, tension tight, balance is getting there and the length is in a good place with better evolution ahead. Dark currants, stewed styled blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, blueberries top nose, black raspberries, strawberries haunt here & there, semi-sweet tarry notes, dark chocolate, hint of mocha powder, vanilla, medium spice, dry stems, bay leaf, dry black turned earth, dry clay, loamy dry top soil, leather, lead pencil shavings, cedar, black tea, decayed red florals with fresh violets. The acidity is a little light but not bad. The long, drier, balanced finish is developing but needs another 5-8 years to reveal its best self.

Photos of; Owner Michel Bortolussi, small barrel room & Chateau Lucia exterior.

Producer notes and history...the owner of Lucia, Michel Bortolussi, got his start in the Bordeaux wine business selling equipment needed to make wine to all the top producers and winemakers in Bordeaux.
However, his strongest customer base were the numerous Chateau’s located in the Saint Emilion. Michel Bortolussi knee that if so many of his customers could produce great wine, he could as well. One of his best clients was wine consultant, Stephane Derenoncourt. That relationship was the start of Chateau Lucia.

Before Bortolussi and Stephane Derenoncourt teamed up to create Chateau Lucia. The wine was formally sold under the name of Chateau Lucie before Michel Bortolussi changed the name to Lucia.

The first vintage for Lucia was made in 2001. In 2012, Chateau Lucia was sold to Enzo Ide, a Belgian businessman.

Enzo Ide has retained the same technical team for their Right Bank vineyards and wine making. Enzo Ide also owns another vineyard, Chateau La Rousselle in the Fronsac appellation.

The 4.3 hectare St. Emilion vineyard of Chateau Lucia is planted to 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc.

Lucia has some of the oldest vines in Bordeaux. In fact, some of the vines date all the way back to 1901. They also have two other sections of vineyard with vines that are on average 30 years of age.

The younger vines are situated close to Chateau Monbousquet. Those vines are planted in more of the sandy terroir with some clay in the soils. Overall, the vineyard has a terroir of clay and limestone soils. The vines are planted to a vine density of 5,500 vines per hectare.

There is a lot of intensive labor that takes place at Chateau Lucia. To produce Chateau Lucia, the berries are harvested by hand. The fruit is sorted twice before fermentation. The grapes are whole berry fermented in small open-top, oak tanks that range in size from 30 to 50 hectoliters.

Everything in the small cellars is moved by gravity. Malolactic fermentation takes place in french oak barrels. The wine is aged on its lees in an average of 60% new, French oak barrels for between 12 to 18 months, depending on the character and quality of the vintage.

The production of Lucia is small at about 1,250 cases depending on what the vintage gives.

The 09 while tasty after opening up over an hour, still needs another 6-8+ years in bottle to be all it can be. Drink 2024-33. — 6 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.4

Villa Symposia is the Languedoc label from Éric Prissette, the founder of Château Rol Valentin. The winemaking is overseen by Stéphane Derenoncourt. And from what I gathered, L'Origine is the flagship, or at least 'the' high-end cuvée here. The importer label indicates it's 95% Syrah, 5% Grenache (but a blog post from Taste Languedoc mentioned Carignan was added to the blend in 2012). The Syrah comes from the oldest vines of the estate, ~50 years old.

Opens with a noticeable amount of Brett, which can go either way for me. I view Brett like abstract art... done well and it's a beautiful lens to which to view a wine. However, when it's done poorly it's shit (literally). This was done very well. The pungent barnyard, stinky cheese, and saddle leather arrive heavily seasoned with baking spices, noticeably cinnamon, and herbs, including rosemary and tarragon. Ripe, dark bramble fruit, lavender oil, and pine resin pervade the palate and continue through the lengthy and structured finish. An extraordinary mix of the old and new world, while maintaining a clear sense of terroir, and providing an intensely vivid experience. It really hits its stride after 1.5 hours. Fair warning, if you don't like Brett at all then I wouldn't recommend this wine... however if you've ever liked a wine because of Brett, I suspect you'll enjoy. — 7 years ago

John Zuzek

8.9

Very nice affordable Bordesux. Lots of floral notes on the nose with black raspberries and currants. Decent structure with lots of dark fruits and some earthiness on the palate. Really nice "Tuesday Night Wine" (although it's Monday). — 8 years ago

Zack Miskel

10

Had to let decant for two hours, but worth the wait to let the tannin structure calm a bit. Napa Cab represented in a bottle! — 9 years ago

Christine Havens

9.0

I was lucky to have had dinner with François Thienpont earlier this spring, and to taste several vintages of VCC. Bellevue is managed by his brother, Nicolas and Stephane Derenoncourt. Bellevue is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cab Franc. The 2000 offers up a bouquet of spring flowers, lavender, black currants, and minerals. Finely-hewn, with well-integrated tannins, and notes of leather, black fruit and graphite. It's just now entering its prime drinking window, with plenty of acidity to carry it forward. — 9 years ago

Zachary Zerbe

8.9

Heavy ... Red fruit ... Syrup — 9 years ago

Oscar Bonilla

10

Was at their winery last year and was fortunate to try their Chateau Le Pin. This one is just as awesome but far less. — 10 years ago

Lauren Brooke

9.1

Meet Franc — 10 years ago

MJ Thompson

10

Phenomenal! — 11 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

I’m opening my last bottle of the 03 Larcis Ducasse after recently reading a couple of professional write ups about the wines fruit fading and to drink up. I did not find that to be the case w/ my last bottle. I found the wine to be around it’s peak form with another 5 years plus ahead. On the nose; menthol, eucalyptus, ripe; dark cherries, cherries, blackberries, plum, poached & candied strawberries, notes of blue fruits, black raspberries, cherry cola, touch herbaceous; sage & bay leaf, limestone & rich, moist, black, turned earth, crushed dry rocks, graphite, dry soil/clay with dry & fresh dark florals. The body is medium full. Tannins are 75-80% resolved. The length, structure, tension & balance are right where I’d expect them to be and are quite enjoyable. The palate is very similar to the nose. Menthol, eucalyptus, ripe; dark cherries, cherries, blackberries, plum, poached & candied strawberries, notes of blue fruits, black raspberries, cherry cola, touch herbaceous; sage & bay leaf, limestone & rich, moist, black, turned earth, crushed dry rocks, dry & very grippy, edgy minerals, Montecristo cigar, graphite, dry soil/clay with dry & fresh dark florals. The acidity is lovely and the long finish is well balanced with an even tug of war between fruit & earth with the dry earth dominate on the long set. Photos of; of their great southern exposed sunny hillside vineyard, the old craved stone entrance and Nicolas Thienpont & Stephane Derenoncourt. Producer notes & history...Chateau Larcis Ducasse began during the days of the ancient Romans, who valued the best hillside vineyards in the area. The early part of the modern era for Larcis Ducasse begins in 1893, when Henri Raba bought the Saint Emilion vineyard. After Henri Raba passed away in 1925, his wife and son Andre Raba continued managing Larcis Ducasse. His niece, Helene Gratiot Alphandery, inherited the property in 1941. She managed Chateau Larcis Ducasse until 1990. Then her son, Jacques-Olivier Gratiot took control of the property after she passed away and he remains in charge today. Chateau Larcis Ducasse remains the property of the Gratiot Alphandery family today. Prior to 2003, it had been years since the wines of Chateau Larcis Ducasse were prized by Bordeaux wine lovers. The wine had fallen out of favor, due to a lack of attention and effort. That changed in 2002 when they hired Saint Emilion consultants, Nicolas Thienpont and Stephane Derenoncourt to turn things around and manage the estate. One of the first improvements at the property suggested by them was to create a new drainage system. The next step was to change harvesting practices. Prior to 2002, the grapes were often picked too early and over a very short duration of 2 to 3 days. Now, the harvest takes place when the fruit is ripe and picking can take as long as 2 to 3 weeks. Starting with the 2005 vintage, all work in the vineyards moved to 100% organic farming methods. The 10.85 hectare St. Emilion vineyard of Larcis Ducasse is planted to 78% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Franc. This shows a slight change in the vineyard, as more Cabernet Franc has been added to the plantings since 2003. The vineyard is located just around the bend in the road from Chateau Pavie. In fact, their vines but up against each other. They are surrounded by more good producers. To the south, is Chateau Canon La Gaffeliere and La Gaffeliere, and as you move north, Chateau Troplong Mondot and Chateau Pavie. The terroir of Chateau Larcis Ducasse is a mixture of soils. The vines on the top of plateau and the slopes have a south facing exposure. At the higher elevations on the plateau, the terroir is limestone, clay and chalk soils. As you travel further down the slopes towards the terraces, the terroir is a blend of chalky limestone, marl, sand, silt and clay soil. At the base of the slopes, you find sand and clay soils. On average the vines are 35 years of age. While the older plantings were done at a vine density of 6,600 vines per hectare, as the vineyard continues to be slowly replanted, the vine density is increasing with each subsequent replanting. The new plantings are being done at 7,500 vines per hectare. They are also using budwood obtained through selection massale. The yields are kept low at Larcis Ducasse. In 2009, the effective yields were only 25 hectoliters per hectare.To produce the wine of Chateau Larcis Ducasse, the grapes are whole berry fermented. The fruit is transported by gravity flow into traditional, cement tanks for fermentation. Cuvaison takes between 25-28 days. There are no pump overs. Pigeages are conducted during fermentation. Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrel. The wine of Chateau Larcis Ducasse is then aged in 67% new, French oak barrels, which are mixed in size, between standard barrels and 500 liter French, oak casks. The wine is then aged for an average of 18 to 20 months in barrel before bottling. The production averages close to 4,000 cases depending on what the vintage gives. — 6 years ago

Michael Kvasnicka

9.1

Tasting real good right now. Aging in quite nicely. Way more tannic last time I had it. — 8 years ago

Sam Coturri

Winery Sixteen 600, Enterprise Vineyards and the Moon Mountain District

9.8

Precise, ripe, a pinnacle of merlot and cab franc. A masterful treat...even before I found myself across the dinner table from Stephane Derenoncourt as he described the importance of limestone in his vineyards. — 8 years ago

with Philip

Stein Ove Sandvik

9.5

Just finished my second bottle. This is one of the best cabs I've ever had. — 9 years ago

Zachary Zerbe

9.0

Great wine. — 9 years ago

Zachary Zerbe

9.5

Love a good Bordeaux on Sunday afternoon ... Blackberry, dark fruit — 9 years ago

Joe D'Angelo

9.1

consulted by Stéphane Derenoncourt — 10 years ago

Boyd Harris

9.7

Stephane Derenoncourt from Montisqueiu. — 11 years ago

Db

9.2

Excellent old world — 6 years ago

Morten Bagai

9.0

Huge wine. Needs to sit for 3-4 hours. — 6 years ago

Db

9.1

Great value — 7 years ago

Kohei Noda

9.0

With Akiyo at home, Tokyo winery. Nice merlot — 7 years ago

Christine Havens

8.9

I'll admit, I'm always happy to have a Nicolas Thienpont wine in my glass. The Thienpont family are associated with other great Bordeaux properties including Puygueraud, Pavie Macquin and one of my personal favorites, Vieux Château Certan. The 2014 Les Charmes Godard is slightly austere, with pronounced herbaceousness. Smoky minerality swirls around boxwood, cherimoya and gooseberry notes. It's lean and racy on the palate, lightly hemmed in by oak. Here lime zest, white grapefruit, and white pepper take the center stage. — 7 years ago

Emil

8.9

less sugar than you would expect given the nose but very smooth. — 8 years ago

Sameer Khosla

9.8

Perfectly drinkable in 2016 with 15% alc - deep plum, licorice, and an intense mouthfeel that finishes surprisingly clean. Ethereal — 8 years ago

Matt Austin

Owner/Winemaker, Grosgrain Vineyards, Walla Walla, WA

9.2

Tasty Super Tuscan. Drinking at peak. — 9 years ago

Jeroen Koenen

9.2

First vintage of this new Thienpont-star in the sky... — 9 years ago

Daniel Klasik

8.9

Took a long time to really open up. Good once there. Lots of sediment. — 9 years ago

Stein Ove Sandvik

9.1

Just had my third Bottle of this wine. Keeps getting better — 10 years ago

Charles Jones

9.5

Happy New Year! — 10 years ago

Kyosuke Takahashi

9.8

香りよし、味良し。最高 — 11 years ago