The second wine, Prelude a Grand-Puy Ducasse, was created in 1955, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the estate's classification. Chateau Grand-Puy Ducasse’s story began when Arnaud Ducasse bought a modest house on the banks of the river in Pauillac in 1675. Little did he know that it would become a large estate that would remain in his family for almost three centuries. Pierre Ducasse, a lawyer with a passion for wine, considerably extended the land over three parishes - Pauillac, Saint-Lambert and Saint- Sauveur - and three seigneuries: Lafite, Latour and Beychevelle. In 1820, his son built the Chateau’s winery facing the Gironde estuary. At the time, this was a daring decision: Grand-Puy Ducasse would be the only Chateau in the area to vinify its grapes for 200 years. In 1855, the property was included in the prestigious classification of great growths; with 40 hectares of vines spread over 11 different types of soil, its vineyard can be considered as the most representative of the diversity of Pauillac’s terroirs. Since 2004, CA Grands Crus, a subsidiary of the Credit Agricole Group, has embarked on an ambitious optimization plan. The subsequent construction of a new vat room and barrel storage facilities completed the Renaissance project. The guiding principle of Chateau Grand-Puy Ducasse and its teams lead by Anne Le Naour and Benjamin Cassoulet is to push rigorous standards even further.

In 2015, the climate context was fully different from 2014. Everything was fine until September for all of our Bordeaux properties besides a serious drought that worried us in early August. Thankfully, relieving rains came at the rescue of some hydro-strained grape vines.