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Ducru Beaucaillou 2012

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > St Julien
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyCabernet Sauvignon/Merlot

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château Ducru-Beaucaillou

Label

Tasting Notes

The color is a healthy deep ruby/purple and the wine smells beautiful, exhibiting lots of floral, creme de cassis, licorice and graphite notes. Medium-bodied but slightly deficient in the mid-palate at present, it picks up speed and finishes with serious authority and power. This 2012 should be outstanding, but it is difficult to favorably compare the 2012 to the prodigious wines produced at Ducru in 2009 and 2010. The 2012 will require 4-6 years of cellaring and should drink well for 15-20 years.

90/92
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (206), April 2013

Mesmerizing aromas of blackberries, licorice and mint. Wet stones too. Full-bodied and tight with super-refined and polished tannins that are pinpointed and elegant. It caresses your palate. Savory and salty on finish. Electric for the vintage. Better in 2018.

95
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2015

Deep garnet in color, the 2012 Ducru-Beaucaillou offers up expressive, exuberant scents of warm kirsch, black raspberries and wild blueberries with hints of sassafras, cedar chest, pencil lead and dried mint plus a waft of dried leaves. Medium-bodied, the palate has lovely freshness and a fair bit of chew, complementing the youthful black and red fruit layers, finishing on a lingering earthy note. 2020 - 2040

93
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (Aug 2020 W), August 2020

91% Cabernet Sauvignon! Bruno Borie had a vat that represented 0.75% of the total blend and Bruno claims you could taste the difference between whether it was included. Brilliant crimson. Just a hint of green leaves. A bit of meat extract. Great texture. Transparent. Really rather delicate - more so than other St-Juliens. Chapeau! Very distinctive. Fresh and delicate. Good interpretation of the vintage.

18
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2013

This has an almost lavish feel, with layers of warmed fig, blackberry
paste and raspberry coulis lined with ganache, anise and
fruitcake flavors. Best from 2018 through 2027.

93
James Molesworth, Wine Spectator Insider, January 2015

"An English vintage that needed gentle handling" is how Bruno Borie describes 2012. If so,
it was all for the good, for this is a pretty, elegant, carefully defined Ducru, that's stylish and
well balanced, with leafy, cassis fruit and a touch of St Julien structure and tannin on the
finish. Comparatively forward in style.
Drink: 2020-35

94
Tim Atkin MW, timatkin.com, April 2013
Read more tasting notes...

Tasted blind at the Bordeaux 2012 Southwold tasting. The 2012 Ducru Beaucaillou was broody and stubborn on the nose: the fruit remaining off-stage while earthy, leathery notes take the limelight. The palate is medium-bodied with quite a tart entry, a keen line of acidity here that lends this energy, a sense of frisson. It settles down as it approaches the finish, gaining harmony all the time with a smooth, lightly spiced finish that lingers in the mouth. It needs time but it will repay you. Tasted January 2016.

92
Neal Martin, RobertParker.com (227), October 2016

The Grand Vin is a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Merlot, delivering 13% alcohol and a pH of 3.68 (IPT of 70.) The Merlot was picked between 3rd and 5th October and the Cabernet Sauvignon between 6th and 10th October. It is being aged in 95% new oak for 18 months. It has a very pure bouquet with small black cherries, blackcurrant with a pleasing mineral component and fine delineation. The palate is well balanced with fine tannins. It is not a powerful Ducru but there is good degree of finesse and freshness thanks to the earlier picked grapes, plus there is a pleasant spice/black pepper note right on the finish. This is one of the finest Saint Julien wines. Tasted April 2013.

92/94
Neal Martin, RobertParker.com, May 2013

A very clean and pretty Ducru with fine tannins and a mineral floral character. Full body, yet racy and delicious. Pure and very elegant. Juicy and enticing.

92/93
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, April 2013
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.