2022 Château Grand Puy Ducasse Pauillac Grand Cru Classé

The 2022 Grand-Puy-Ducasse has a very deep purple-black colour, which slowly unfolds in the glass, offering deep notes of dark plums, warm cassis and blackberry jam with hints of cedar, menthol, mocha and black olives plus a touch of lavender. The medium to full-bodied palate is built like a brick house, with a firm texture of ripe, grainy tannins and bold freshness supporting the generous black fruit preserves, finishing with a lingering minty lift.

This winery has some very special neighbours and is situated between Château Mouton Rothschild, Château Lafite Rothschild and Château Pontet Canet. In 1972, wine merchant Mestrezat took over this somewhat sleepy Château. Substantial investments followed in both cellars and vineyard. In 1992, mechanical harvesting was completely abolished. Strict manual selection followed. In the completely new cellar, the percentage of new oak barrels was increased. The total surface area is now 45 ha with plots bordering Château Batailley and Lafite- and Mouton Rothschild. Since the takeover, great strides have been made, resulting in a worthy 5th Grand Cru classification and especially the vintages in the top years are (still) very interesting in terms of price.