History
The history of the Château Grand-Puy-Ducasse begins when Arnaud Ducasse bought in the middle of the seventeenth century to Jacques de Segur, Lord of Lafite, his little house on the edge of the river Pauillac, and he couldn’t imagine that it would become the foundation of a large estate that would remain in his family for nearly three centuries. The real founder of the estate will be Pierre Ducasse, passionate lawyer for viticultural issues.
He acquires lands and parts of the Bourdieu Grand-Puy on three parishes: Pauillac, Saint-Lambert and Saint-Sauveur, and three lordships: Lafite, Latour and Beychevelle. New purchases and exchanges allowed him to expand his estates until his death in 1797. His son then found himself leader of a property named Ducasse-Grand-Puy-Artigues-Arnaud which has sixty hectares, including nearly two-thirds are planted with vines. Around 1820, he built the current castle in front of the Gironde, on the site of the house of his ancestors. From his wedding with Jenny Ducasse will be born two daughters and it is under the direction of one of his sons-in-law, Adrien Chauvet, that the estate is classified under the name of Artigues Arnaud, in 1855.
The Civil Society named Château Grand -Puy Ducasse is then created in 1932. Since 2004 Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse is one of the properties acquired by CA Grands Crus, a subsidiary of Crédit Agricole Group. The optimization plan of the entire vineyard initiated during the acquisition of the Château is now carried out by Anne Le Naour, Technical Director of the estate. Th estate also produces a scond wine, Prélude à Grand-Puy-Ducasse.
Terroir & Vinification
The 40 hectares of the vineyard are spread over three large plots seated on a gravelly soil of the Pauillac appellation. The vineyards of the property are close to Mouton, Lafite and Pontet-Canet to the North. In the center, they occupy part of the Bourdieu Grand-Puy. To the south, they are located on the plateau of Saint-Lambert. Aged on average 25 years, they are divided between Cabernet Sauvignon (63%) and Merlot (37%).
Since 2004, the domain belongs to the company CA Grands Crûs. Since 2007, all CA GRANDS CRUS holdings are qualified as sustainable agriculture. The group emphasizes its desire to acto for a sustainable development policy and is committed to respecting the environment. During the harvest, which according to the Medocan tradition, are manual, a first sorting of the grapes is done on the table, directly in the vineyard. Upon arrival at the winery, the harvest is sorted one last time by hand with the greatest care, then each batch is vinified separately: total destemming, light crushing and vinification in thermo-regulated stainless steel vats. After assembly, the aging extends from 18 to 24 months in barrels (30 to 40% of new wood).
