2019 Ducru Beaucaillou
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Tasting notes
Fantastic intensity and focus to the aromas from dried tobacco, floral lift (dried rose), lots of clove spice and brooding black fruits, its explosive. The palate is deceptively supple, generous, fleshy – deceptive because the concentration of tannins is unbelievable yet fine and fully resolved, creating a layering velvet texture and at the same time, directional, focussed density. The fruit on the palate is more opulent, ripe cassis, blue fruit, black plum – it displays across the fruit spectrum, but there is some mineral underpinning too. The finish is incredible, all the fruit, the layered textures and perfumes fan out on the finish and the long sustain shows exceptional balance. This is rich, ripe and powerful, but restraint enough to hold tension too. Opulent and elegant is a balance difficult to achieve but it is done beautifully here.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
Following the 2018 (and tasted next to the 2020), the 2019 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou comes across as more refined and elegant, with a straight, focused, still full-bodied profile that has pure cassis and blue-tinged fruits as well as textbook tobacco leaf, violets, and graphite. It’s a regal, refined, aristocratic Ducru Beaucaillou that has ultra-fine tannins and a layered, seamless mouthfeel, and while it’s seriously concentrated, it stays graceful and light on its feet. It’s closed down slightly since release, so this beauty needs a solid 7-8 years in the cellar.
Powerful and muscular, the 2019 Ducru-Beaucaillou offers up aromas of cassis, raspberries and cherries mingled with notions of violets and iris, framed by a generous application of creamy new oak. Full-bodied, velvety and concentrated, it's rich but lively, with a deep core of fruit and an ample endowment of ripe, powdery tannins. Fuller maturity and a more rigorous selection over the last two decades have brought what proprietor Bruno Borie characterizes as additional "punch" to this wine, in the form of unprecedented levels of anthocyanins and tannins, but all that substance and structure will require some patience before we'll see if Ducru is still Saint-Julien's most elegant wine.
The wine of the vintage in Saint-Julien, if not all of the Médoc, the 2019 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou is based on 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot, aged in 100% new French oak, that hit a natural alcohol of 14.2% with a monster IPT (number of tannins) of 88. It's certainly one of the most concentrated Saint-Juliens, revealing a dense purple hue to go with a stacked bouquet of crème de cassis, freshly sharpened pencils, damp clay, tobacco, and hints of spring flowers. Concentrated, full-bodied, and powerful, it has incredible tannins, flawless balance, and a gorgeous finish. While most estates today are playing it safe and producing more ethereal, elegant wines that drink well right out of the gate, thankfully, this estate continues to make concentrated, powerful, age-worthy wines, and this heavenly beauty is as good as it gets! It will need a decade of bottle age to hit the early stages of maturity and will evolve for 50 years or more. Bravo to Bruno Borie!
About the producer
Second Growth estate Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou in Saint-Julien is one of the Super Seconds, an elite group of properties producing wines that regularly compete with the finest in the Médoc.