Ducru Beaucaillou 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.

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.

The 2020 Ducru-Beaucaillou unwinds in the glass with aromas of dark berries, pencil shavings, violets and pipe tobacco, all framed by creamy new oak. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy and concentrated, with a deep but tightly wound core that's still quite wrapped up in extract and oak tannin, even if it isn't quite as big-boned as its 2019 counterpart. It will require some patience. 2030 - 2055

The 2020 Ducru Beaucaillou was picked from 11-30 September, matured entirely in new oak for an expected 18 months. It has a very succinct bouquet, not one that leaps from the glass and demands attention, but it unfolds slowly, at its own pace, revealing enticing scents of blackberry, cedar, iris petals and crushed stone. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit. There is a saline spine that runs through this Saint-Julien from start to finish, a quite enormous structure that exerts grip towards the finish. It is not a Ducru-Beaucaillou that goes out to deliver finesse or understatement, but one that you will have to cellar for a few years, pull out and have the superlatives ready. This is an immense and cerebral Ducru-Beaucaillou from Bruno Borie and his team. 2031 - 2065

Blackcurrants and blueberries with violets and crushed stone. Extremely aromatic. Full-bodied but very tight and reserved, with racy, almost steely tannins. Some subtle sweet fruit in the center palate. Great transparency and clarity. Super precision here. Vertical and polished. Try after 2028.

An amazing Ducru, one of the wines of the vintage. Hugely persistent, chiselled and precise, yet succulent in its berry and cassis fruit character. The slate and pencil lead finish slows things down and grabs hold of you, I love the push-and-pull of the tannins. Always a confident and well-finessed wine, really flexing its muscles in 2020. 100% new oak barrels. 3.83pH.

Drinking Window 2029 - 2045

The 2020 marks Ducru Beaucaillou's 300th anniversary. Production is 25% down on last year. The blend is 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Merlot that will be aged for 18 months in 100% new French oak. The abv is 13.5%. Deep ruby in colour. The nose is refined but intense, bringing cool blackcurrant fruit with the classic riper flair this wine is known for - hints of kirsch and sweet spice but also floral tones. The oak is present but sits in tandem with a strong graphite note that follows onto the palate, leaving a strong impression of freshness. There is superb delineation of cool black cherry and blackcurrant, bolstered by savoury spices of oak. The tannins are ever-present but refined, adding a full structure without dominating the fruit. This an elegant, chiselled Ducru with a long and harmonious finish.

(81% CS, 19% M; 33% harvest; 13.5% ABV; 100% new)
A fine Cabernet nose with a discreet new-oak vanilla, refined and very gently mineral; medium-full, very fresh in acidity, and with Ducru’s trade-mark super-fine texture, but this year’s fairly firm tannins; a rich, elegant wine with, clear to perceive, the extra sinew and masculinity that Bruno has said he is looking for in recent vintages, noticeable as a little more extract, making the wine that little bit firmer, and which will make it longer to mellow as well; typically long and effortless and graceful across the palate, and with a lovely, gentle, mineral-fragrant finish. Succulent, juicy, complex, and classy, but also aristocratic, upright, and a touch severe in bearing. It will be very rewarding in the long term. A sort of refined version of 2010 here, less muscle, more polish, lower alcohol, and, as so often, rubbing shoulders with the first growths. 2035–60+.