Château Ducru-Beaucaillou

In the glass

Aroma: cassis, dark cherry, violets, pencil shavings, cedar

Palate: black plum, graphite, tobacco, silky tannins, Gunzian gravel minerality

Archetype of refined Saint-Julien: cassis and dark cherry on a bed of Gunzian gravel minerality, with perfectly integrated silky tannins and an exceptionally lengthy finish.

What it pairs with

• Rack of Pauillac lamb with herb crust
  The wine's firm tannin structure and cedar notes harmonise with the lanolin richness of local lamb.
• Aged Comté or Ossau-Iraty
  Crystalline mountain-cheese salt sharpens the wine's cassis fruit without overwhelming it.
• Roasted wood pigeon with truffle jus
  Gamey, earthy register of pigeon mirrors the wine's tobacco and graphite notes.
• Entrecôte bordelaise
  Classic Bordeaux pairing: the wine's dark fruit and firm grip cut the marbling of a rib-eye.

History

The estate traces its modern identity to 1720 when it was established as a family property in the Médoc. The distinctive name references the Gunzian quartz-pebble soils ('beaux cailloux') along the Gironde. The Borie family acquired it in 1941 and elevated it to super-second status through rigorous selection.

1. 1720 — Property established as a Médoc wine estate
2. 1855 — Classified Deuxième Cru in the Bordeaux 1855 Classification
3. 1941 — Borie family purchase and quality revival begins
4. 1995 — Second wine La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou introduced

Facts

Producer

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou

Grapes

Cabernet Sauvignon (82%), Merlot (18%)

Classification

Saint-Julien AOC, Deuxième Cru Classé (1855)

Oak

75-90% new French oak barrels, 18-20 months

ABV

13.5%

Production

120,000 bottles

Price

€200-400 at retail

Drinking window

10-35 from vintage

First vintage

1720

Organic

ECOCERT

Scores

• Wine Advocate 96 (2019 vintage, reviewed 2022)
• Decanter 98 (2019 vintage, reviewed 2022)

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