Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse Pauillac, Bordeaux, Complete Guide

Learn everything about Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse, Pauillac, Fifth Growth with wine tasting notes and wine with food pairing tips. Learn all the best vintages, the history of the property, and information on the vineyards and winemaking. If you want to read about other important, Bordeaux Chateaux: Links to all Bordeaux Wine Producer Profiles

Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse History, Overview

The history of Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse dates back to the middle of the 18th century when Arnaud Ducasse bought a small house next to the Gironde river. He obtained the land from Jacques de Segur. Segur is one of the famous names in the early days of Bordeaux, as they owned much of the land that is devoted to the top chateaux in the Medoc.

That purchase by the river is important because it eventually became the location of the chateau. In fact, Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse has a unique distinction of being one of the few Bordeaux chateaux that are not located in their vineyards. The chateau, built in the 18th century is located close to the Gironde river.

Additional purchases and exchanges allowed the family to increase the size of what would become the vineyards for Grand Puy Ducasse.

Some of their vines were purchased from the Dejean family, who sold a portion of their Pauillac vineyards to Pierre Ducasse. Those vines soon became Grand Puy Ducasse, while the remainder of their holdings went on to create Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste.

In 1797, the son of Pierre Ducasse inherited the Bordeaux estate known as Ducasse-Grand-Puy-Artigues-Arnaud, which included 60 hectares of vines. His marriage with Jenny Ducasse produced two children who eventually managed the estate when it was classified in 1855 under the name of Chateau Artigues Arnaud. To honor the founders of the Medoc estate, the name was later changed to Grand Puy Ducasse.

Interestingly, Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse has a connection to Sauternes. At some point in time, near the turn of the 19th century, in the early 1900s, the estate was owned by a member of the Suduiraut family. The official company called Grand Puy Ducasse was founded in 1932.

Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse The Modern Era

In 1971, Grand Puy Ducasse was sold to investors who once again enlarged the properties Left Bank vineyard holdings. In 1980, the chateau added a new vatting house, including sorting tables and other wine-making facilities.

The property was sold in 2004 to CA Grands Crus who also own Chateau Meyney in St. Estephe. After purchasing the vineyard, they quickly began to renovate the estate, replant the vineyards and modernize their cellars and winemaking facilities.

They soon brought in the oenologist, Denis Dubourdieu to consult. That situation changed in November 2013, when the owners, who wanted to shake things up when they hired Hubert de Bouard of Chateau Angelus from St. Emilion to consult. Things have never been better.

Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse has slowly but surely continued not only improving their wines but keeping up with technological innovations. In 2012, after giving optical sorting a try in the difficult 2011 Bordeaux vintage, the estate liked the results so much, they purchased their own optical sorters.

In 2012, the chateau completed a renovation of their cellars and added new, cement, egg-shaped vats for vinification, which provided a bit more minerality to the wine. A second, multi-year renovation and modernization of the cellars was completed in 2024.

Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse Vineyards, Terroir, Grapes, Winemaking

The 40 hectare Medoc vineyard of Grand Puy Ducasse is planted to 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot. This vineyard makeup which shows an increase in the amount of Cabernet Sauvignon in the vineyard, giving the wines more structure, tannin, and complexity. You also find the addition of Petit Verdot.

The vineyard of Grand Puy Ducasse can be divided into three main blocks with plots on gravel, clay, and sand soils. The vineyard is further subdivided into 60 separate parcels. However, it is important to note that their parcels are widely dispersed in the appellation on a myriad of exposures, elevations, and soil types.

In the northern part of Pauillac, their vines border other famous Pauillac estates, Mouton Rothschild, Lafite Rothschild and if you travel further to the north, Chateau Pontet Canet and Chateau dArmailhac. The soils here have a bit more limestone, and marl.

In the southern end of Pauillac, Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse has vines close to Chateau Pichon Baron. They also have parcels close to Chateau Lynch Bages. Here you find more sand, clay and gravel, which is perfect for their Merlot and Petit Verdot.

The middle of the vineyards is where you find the gravel slopes known as Grand Puy. Below the gravel and sandy terroir, you find a cooling, water retentive, clay subsoil.

The vines are close to 30 years of age on average. The vines are planted to a density of between 8,000 and 10,000 vines per hectare. Newer plantings are done at the higher level of vine density.

Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse began making a slow transition to organic farming in 2014. Initially, they used organic methods on a small, 4.7 hectare of vines. They switched to fully, organic farming in 2025.

Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse is vinified in stainless steel vats. Malolactic fermentation takes place mostly in tank. A small percentage of the wine sees Malolactic Fermentation in the barrel.

The wines are aged in 50% new, French oak barrels for an average of 18 months, depending on the character of the vintage. Production averages are slightly more than 10,000 cases per year for Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse. There is a second wine, Prelude a Grand Puy Ducasse.

The best vintages of Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse are: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2010, 2009, 2006 and 2005. It should be noted that the quality of Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse began increasing dramatically starting with the 2015 vintage.

When to Drink Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse needs some time in the cellar before it is truly fun to drink. It is a strong, tannic Pauillac wine. Young vintages can be decanted for an average of 2-4 hours, give or take. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment.

Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse is usually better with at least 8-10 years of bottle age. Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage character. Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse should be at peak maturity between 10-25 years of age after the vintage.

Serving Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse with Wine, Food, Pairing Tips

Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift.

Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse is best served with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes. Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse is also good with Asian dishes, hearty fish courses like tuna, mushrooms, and pasta.

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