Château Fourcas Dupré Listrac-Médoc 2018

Patrice Pagès skillfully manages a single, contiguous estate of about 40 hectares, planted on slightly clayey gravel soil. The wines are generally austere and reserved in their youth but gain elegance over the years.

It’s a bit more austere than expected at the en primeur tasting, but it has character and is an understated Listrac with plenty of confident black fruit and blackberry notes.

This estate, founded in the 18th century, took on its current name in 1843, when Maître Dupré, a lawyer at the Bordeaux Court of Appeals, purchased the property. Covering 43 hectares on a lovely terroir of Pyrenean gravel, it has been owned by the Pagès family since 1970.

The Fourcas-Dupré vineyard is planted in a single block on a beautiful gravelly ridge. The estate, expertly managed by Patrice Pagès—now assisted by his brother Ghislain—produces a classic Listrac: firm, somewhat austere, genuine, and impeccably straightforward in expression. While the wines take time to develop, they retain their qualities over time, and prices remain reasonable. A new, more modern approach to winemaking is underway, and the most recent vintages are promising.

Fresh red currants and berries on the nose. It is medium-bodied with supple, elegant tannins. Juicy and fresh.

The nose is floral and intense. It features notes of violet, blackberry, and lilac, combined with hints of blackcurrant and wild strawberry, as well as touches of licorice, vanilla, and toast, along with subtle hints of cuben pepper and a barely perceptible saline note. The palate is fruity, with minerality, freshness, a certain smoothness, and a lively acidity. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of fresh, juicy raspberry and crisp cherry, along with more subtle hints of violet and rose, combined with touches of refined minerality, lilac, cardamom, and almond, as well as a discreet hint of chocolate. The tannins are well-integrated.

This wine, which offers excellent value for the price, really shines. Fresh and full-bodied, it’s bursting with sweet, ripe blackcurrants, bright, crisp plums, and black cherries. Round, smooth, and polished, with depth and energy in the long finish,