Kasteel Grand Puy-Ducasse

Château Grand-Puy Ducasse is a wine estate in Pauillac on the Left Bank of Bordeaux. Unusually, the château building is located within the town itself; most other châteaux are situated within the vineyard areas surrounding it. A major renovation project was completed in 2024, seeing the inauguration of a new cellar (in time for the 2023 vintage) and a visitor’s centre. The estate was ranked Fifth Growth in the 1855 classification. It is part CA Grands Crus, the fine-wine production arm of France’s Crédit Agricole bank. Other estates in the group include Château Meyney in St Estèphe as well as properties in St Émilion and Burgundy. The group is overseen by Anne Le Naour, who joined in 2011.

While the cellar is within the town of Pauillac, its vineyards are broken up into different plots scattered throughout the appellation. This makes the estate “the most representative of the diversity of Pauillac’s soils”, Anne believes. A new label design was introduced with the 2020 vintage, part of a concerted effort to signify a new era and perhaps to shake off old associations. In the past, Anne says, “the focus was on quantity, not quality”. Furthermore, much of the production was once sold to French supermarkets. To turn things around here, Anne focused first on restoring and improving the vineyard. It took her almost a decade to convince the shareholders to make what she saw as a crucial investment in the winery, though she is happy with the result.

In addition to the grand vin, there is also a second wine here, Prélude à Grand-Puy Ducasse.