Château Grand-Puy Ducasse 2000

Characteristics and tasting tips for Château Grand-Puy Ducasse 2000

Tasting

Appearance
The wine reveals a deep red colour with dark ruby to garnet hues, adorned with subtle brick-red highlights at the rim that bear witness to its patient evolution.

Nose
The complex bouquet opens with aromas of black fruit such as blackcurrant and blackberry. With time, it reveals subtle toasty notes of cedar, cigar box and coffee, enriched by tertiary nuances of supple leather and forest floor.

Palate
The attack is full and fleshy, carried by lovely tension. The tannic structure, initially firm, has softened to offer a velvety texture. The ample mid-palate stretches into a long finish marked by touches of liquorice, tobacco and a hint of salinity.

Food and wine pairing
This red wine pairs wonderfully with red meats such as a roast rack of lamb or a rib of beef. It will also be a fine match for dishes in sauce, game such as a fillet of venison, and aged hard cheeses.

Serving and ageing
To fully appreciate this 2000 vintage, it is advisable to decant it one to two hours before tasting and to serve it at a temperature of 17 to 18°C. This wine has reached a fine maturity yet still has the structure needed to develop favourably in the cellar for roughly another decade.

The elegance and complexity of a red wine from Pauillac

The estate
The history of Château Grand-Puy Ducasse began in 1675, when Arnaud Ducasse acquired land. Located in Pauillac, in the renowned Bordeaux region of France, this Fifth Growth in the 1855 Classification has the unique distinction of making its wines in the very heart of the town, facing the Gironde estuary. Now owned by CA Grands Crus, a subsidiary of the Crédit Agricole group, the estate combines tradition and modernity. Under the direction of Anne Le Naour, the property has embarked on an ecological transition culminating in organic certification.

The vineyard
Covering around 40 hectares, the vineyard is particularly representative of the diversity of terroirs in the Pauillac appellation. The vines, with an average age of 25 to 30 years, are spread across a mosaic of eleven different soil types, ranging from Garonne gravel mounds on a marl-limestone base to sandy-gravel soils. This geological richness makes it possible to achieve controlled yields and grapes of great concentration.

The vintage
2000 is recognised as a great year in the region. Weather conditions proved particularly favourable, with a hot and relatively dry summer. This fine weather continued through to the harvest, allowing grapes to be picked at optimal phenolic ripeness and in perfect health.

Vinification and ageing
After manual harvesting and a rigorous double sorting, the grapes are completely destemmed. Vinification is carried out plot by plot in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats. Malolactic fermentation takes place mainly in vats, with a small proportion in new barrels. The wine is then aged for 18 to 24 months in oak barrels, 30 to 40% of which are new, to refine its structure.

Grape varieties
This wine is made from a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (around 60%) and Merlot (around 40%).