| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > St Julien |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
Ducru Beaucaillou is on top form these days. Bruno Borie has made some very serious wines at Ducru in recent vintages with many vats previously destined for the grand vin now being used for the second or third labels. Bruno's policy is now to only select fruit from the heart of the Ducru vineyard, overlooking the estuary, for the Grand Vin. Ducru is clearly back where it belongs at the top of the super-second league. Replanting of key sites is ongoing in order to further improve the quality here.
A wine that will delight Médoc purists, the 2021 Ducru-Beaucaillou is a blend of fully 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Merlot and checks in at a mere 12.5% alcohol. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of dark berries, cigar wrapper, violets, loamy soil and spices, it's full-bodied, layered and velvety, with superb depth at the core, lively acids and powdery tannins. Complete and penetrating, it's a true classic, reminiscent of a modern-day version of Ducru's brilliant 1996—though today's precision winemaking means that the 2021 is unlikely to go through so long a hibernation as that vintage.
Only 20 hl/ha produced at Ducru this year with just 5,000 cases of grand vin. The Cabernet Sauvignon proportion is the highest in history at 98% with just a touch of Merlot. 12.5% abv. Vivid purple colour. Deep blackcurrant fruit showcases the near-all Cabernet fruit in this blend, wafting from the glass with cedar, sous bois and juniper. The palate is cool, driven and deep, a vertical wine with real drive of blackcurrant as on the palate. Sweet and spicy wood bolsters the fruit and adds some flesh, but this is cut back by chewy, rich and dense tannins. This saline and pure Ducru will need some time to unfurl but the long, saline finish promises a long life ahead.
Firm, structured and pure with a cool and solid core of dark currants, blackberries, tar, pencil lead and bitter chocolate. Hints of tobacco, too. Firm but silky tannins. Very pure, with a long, mineral finish. Intense and very focused. 98% cabernet sauvignon and 2% merlot.
The 2021 Ducru-Beaucaillou is a blend of 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Merlot, the highest-ever proportion of Cabernet, harvested from 21 September to 11 October. Deep garnet-purple colored, it features evocative notes of blackcurrant jelly, fresh plums, and black raspberries. Light-bodied, the palate has a rock-solid structure of firm, grainy tannins - beautifully ripe - with a lively backbone supporting the intense, tightly wound black fruits, leading to a long and earthy finish to this impressive wine. pH 3.88. 101 IPT.
Plush depth to the savoury black fruit, with the highest ever level of Cabernet Sauvignon in this wine, and it's a stand out in the vintage. Not the exuberance that you find in the most recent years of Ducru, but it is excellent, with a creaminess to the cassis fruit alongside rose petal and peony aromatics. Sculpted and seductive, with the austere tannins that are a signature of the year. 100% new oak, IPT 100.
98% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Merlot. Record proportion of Cabernet in the blend. Cask sample.
Deep, bright purple hue. Elegant cedar, dark-fruit and cassis nose. Lovely depth of fruit, velvety texture, abundant but polished tannins and lingering freshness. Drives on the finish. A well-groomed thoroughbred. Pure, precise and long and a little more classic than recent years. (JL) 12.5%
Drink 2030 – 2050
