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Ducru Beaucaillou 2020 (1.5L)
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Critic Scores, Reviews & Descriptions
100 JD / 99 DE / 99 WI / 98 JA / 98 WCI / 97 FS / 97 JS / 96-98 VM / 96-98 WE / 17.5++ JR
#83 Jeb Dunnuck's Top 100 2023
To celebrate their 300th vintage, the chateau has created a special label for 2020.
Lastly, the 2020 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou is another legendary wine from this château that has been on an incredible run over the past decade. A blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Merlot that was brought up all in new French oak, it has a saturated purple hue to go with an incredible, mineral-laced bouquet of crème de cassis, liquid violets, graphite, and tobacco leaf. More structured and concentrated than any of the Léovilles, this blockbuster, deep, concentrated, full-bodied Saint-Julien has off-the-charts purity, ultra-fine tannins, and a great, great finish. I wrote in my notes, "Like the 2010, only better." You won't find a more concentrated yet flawlessly balanced and elegant wine out there. It's going to need a decade of cellaring and will have 40, 50, if not 60 years of longevity. - Jeb Dunnuck
Evocative and moreish, a Ducru that beguiles and delights from the start with a scented nose full of cedar, rose, violets, cherries and damsons - a riot of Cabernet typicity. Vibrant and pulsing on the palate, this has grip and intention from the get-go. Massy, full and wide in the mouth - there’s density and this is broad but it’s delicate too - a sense of weightlessness with such movement and energy and a soft sweet, succulent grip throughout. Powerful with present tannins that unravel slowly so there’s time to appreciate the details as they come. A thoughtful and intellectual wine that leaves a smile on your face.--Georgina Hindle, Decanter
The 2020 Ducru-Beaucaillou is composed of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Merlot, aged for 18 months in 100% new oak. Deep garnet-purple in color, it is a little subdued to begin, yet soon comes galloping out of the glass with a fabulously intense core of blueberry pie and creme de cassis, leading to suggestions of dark chocolate, Indian spices, rose oil, and iron ore, plus a hint of cardamom. The medium-bodied palate is densely packed with bright black fruits, supported by exquisitely fine-grained tannins and bold freshness, finishing very long with loads of exotic spice and mineral layers. Very perfumed, it is simultaneously powerful, elegant, and beautifully poised - a triumph. This is the 300-year anniversary bottle. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Independent
I've tasted this vintage a few times recently, and each time its proved impossible to resist, showcasing precision and crafting, with concentrated and intense cassis and bilberry fruits, loaded up with cigar box, slate, sage and a delicate caress of crushed roses. Harvest September 11 to 30. Emmanuel Bonneau technical director, Eric Boissenot consultant. Anniversary of the founding 1720 marriage between Jacques de Bergeron and Marie Dejean, heiress of the vines that would become Ducru Beaucaillou, so this marks 300 years from the birth of the property. - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux
With a dark hue, you instantly find incense, black cherries, flowers, spice, and a plethora of red and black fruits. The wine is concentrated, full-bodied, ripe, rich, soft, and polished. There is purity to the fruit, silk to the tannins, complexity on the mid-palate, and length in the finish. The fruit is bright, fresh, and pure with a beautiful sensation of elegance from start to finish. This gem should start to really unfurl after its 10th birthday and provide fabulous drinking for 25-35 years after that. This is a stunningly graceful Ducru Beaucaillou. Produced from blending 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Merlot, 13.5% ABV. Picking took place September 11 - September 30. Drink from 2027-2055.-Jeff Leve, Wine Cellar Insider
Tasted blind. Black core with crimson rim. Intense aroma of pure black fruit. Pure cassis. Very deep, rich and oaky but the fruit is the power at the core of the wine. Big and harmonious. Maybe not classic St-Julien but perhaps it is in 2020?-Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson