Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2015 Larcis Ducasse opens with opulent scents of blueberry pie, baked plums and spice cake with nuances of unsmoked cigars, dusty soil, licorice and a touch of salami. Big, rich, full-bodied and incredibly impactful on the palate, it proudly struts its bold black and blue fruits with a plush, velvet-textured cape, finishing long and spicy.

The 2015 Larcis-Ducasse is a blend of 87% Merlot and 13% Cabernet France, picked between 28 September and 10 October, 7-13 October respectively. Cropped at 37 hl/ha it is being matured in 500-liter barrels. It has an intense nose of raspberry preserve, boysenberries and an almost honeyed-like richness that thankfully retains freshness and delineation, when it could have been over-powering. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannin, a little grainy in texture, very well-balanced and graceful, gently building to a convincing, quite minerally, blackberry and wild strawberry finish. There is superb terroir expression here, an excellent Larcis-Ducasse that should offer 3-4 decades of drinking pleasure.

Hard to believe this. It has a minerality and intensity like a great white wine with so much chalky character that it gives an oyster shell flavor. Full and racy. Shaking my head in intrigue. Wonderfully silky tannins.