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Ducru Beaucaillou 2020

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

Ducru is on top form these days. Bruno Borie has made some very serious wines at Ducru in recent vintages with many vats previously destined for the grand vin now being used for the second or third labels. Bruno's policy is now to only select fruit from the heart of the Ducru vineyard, overlooking the estuary, for the Grand Vin. Ducru is clearly back where it belongs at the top of the super-second league.

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

Label

Tasting Notes

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.

100
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, March 2023

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.

99
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, March 2023

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

95
William Kelley, Wine Advocate, April 2023

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

96/98
Neal Martin, vinous.com, June 2021

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.

97
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, May 2023

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

98
Jane Anson, Decanter.com, May 2021

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.

94/96
Farr Vintners, Farr Tasting, May 2021

(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+.

94/95
Michael Schuster, The World of Fine Wine, May 2021
Read more tasting notes...

Really perfumed and complex with blackberries, blackcurrants and flowers. Gorgeous cabernet sauvignon character. Full-bodied with really fine, polished tannins. Superb length and intensity. Very compact and seamless. Ethereal. Just goes on and on.

98/99
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, April 2021

The 2020 Ducru-Beaucaillou is a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Merlot, aging for approximately 18 months in 100% new barriques. It has a pH of 3.83, 13.5% alcohol and an IPT (total polyphenol index) of 90. Opaque purple-black colored, the nose slowly unfurls to reveal tantalizing scents of crushed blackcurrants, wild blueberries and boysenberries, leading to suggestions of chocolate mint, star anise, red roses and unsmoked cigars with a waft of cedar chest. The medium-bodied palate delivers impactful, muscular black fruits with a firm frame of ripe, fine-grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and fragrant. Drink 2027-2052.

95/97
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (79), May 2021
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.