The wine boasts 14.6% natural alcohol and is a final blend of roughly three-fourths Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc, cropped at a ridiculously low 19 hectoliters per hectare. Notes of licorice, garrigue, incense, smoked meats, espresso, creme de cassis and blackberry liqueur jump from the glass of this unbelievably intense wine. Remarkably full, with compelling freshness and precision, this is a fabulous effort in 2010. It will probably close down over the next several years, and not re-emerge for at least a decade, something that often happens with the bigger, richer, more muscular St.-Emilions from the limestone hillsides and plateaux. This is one of the superstars of the vintage and a profound wine. Drink it between 2020 and 2045.

Robert Parker (Wine Advocate #205, Feb 2013)

Wow. This is really intense with amazing dark fruit character of crushed blueberries and minerals. It’s full-bodied, with super integrated tannins and a superb finish that lasts for minutes. A fabulous wine. Better in 2019.

– jamessuckling.com, October 2012

Deep garnet in color, the 2010 Larcis Ducasse opens a little subdued, offering glimpses of tobacco leaf, cast-iron pan and dusty soil over a core of raisin cake and Indian spices plus a touch of figs. Full-bodied, rich and seductive, it has firm, plush tannins and bags of freshness, finishing long and spicy.

Tasted twice both at the UGC in London and in Bordeaux, the Larcis Ducasse (83% Merlot and 17% Cabernet Franc picked between 6th and 19th October and raised in 60% new oak for 16 to 18 months) has a ripe, opulent bouquet with ravishing dark plum and boysenberry fruit with good definition – certainly a Saint Emilion that shows the personality of the previous vintage. The palate is sweet and sensual on the entry with fine minerality showing through. It is very complex, more controlled on the finish than some recent vintages with great poise. This is an excellent Saint Emilion to join the great 2009. Tasted November 2012.

– eRobertParker.com, Mar 2013

(an 83/17 blend of merlot and cabernet franc, from a vineyard on the same chalky slope as Chateau Pavie, slightly to the east): Bright medium ruby. Knockout nose combines cassis, espresso, smoked meat, crushed rock, olive, caramel and a whiff of V-8. Broad, thick and fine-grained but youthfully tight, with uncanny weight to the flavors of black raspberry and minerals. But an exhilarating floral element gives lift to the middle palate. Doesn't have quite the pungent minerality of Pavie but I love the suave extraction here. And the smooth finish goes on and on. A great vintage for this wine, which is made by the team of Nicolas Thienpont and Stephane Derenoncourt. (I should note that an earlier bottle of similar quality was distinctly more primary and penetrating, and showed a more powerful spine of acids and tannins. This very savory sample showed more energy and grip but was more dominated by its structure in the early going.)

A rich, tongue-coating style, with loamy structure and dense plum sauce, roasted fig and warm dark currant confiture notes, all inlaid with espresso and graphite. Still tightly drawn now, this needs a bit more cellaring to unfurl fully, but there's beautiful polish and lovely fruit worth waiting for. Best from 2016 through 2030. 2,900 cases made.

– James Molesworth (WineSpectator.com, March 2013)

(85 % merlot and 15% cabernet franc; 3.4 pH) Bright ruby-red. Strawberry, red cherry, white pepper and flowers on the perfumed nose. A refined midweight on the palate, with fresh red cherry and plum flavors complicated by herbs and spices. The peppery, smooth, long finish features hints at flowers and white pepper. This pristine, lovely wine packs in a ton of flavor without coming across as particularly powerful or large-scaled.

Dark crimson with some lustre. Heady with just a hint of (non-malevolent) dustiness. This tastes quite grainy, as though it were not perfectly filtered, but I don’t mind that at all. It’s more about texture than fruit though with the tannins triumphant. I’d wait a while before opening. (JR)

Tasted blind. Among the lowest alcohol of the 20 or so St-Émilions tasted today. Deep garnet with soft rim. Very ripe, dried-fruits aroma – masses of fruit. Mature and tertiary on the palate, the tannins are starting to resolve and there’s freshness but it is just a bit stewed on the finish. (JH)