2017 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou
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Tasting notes
From a great vintage that flies too far under the radar (it's certainly better then 2004, 2006, and 2007), the 2017 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou has that classic Ducru-Beaucaillou sense of purity and elegance, with medium to full-bodied richness and depth in its cassis and almost blue fruits as well as notes of cedary herbs, tobacco, and loamy earth. A blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot raised in new oak, this balanced, endearing, mouth-filling 2017 deserves another 4-5 years of bottle age and will have another 40+ years of prime drinking.
Critic scores
James Suckling
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
' Spring frosts in April were fortunately avoided thanks to our privileged location next to the Gironde. Budbreak and flowering were early, followed by heavy rains in June. The weather improved in July, and August was hot and dry. September saw welcome rains for the first half followed by dry conditions during the second half, enabling full ripening.' Harvest: 18 September – 30 September. 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot. 18 months in new French oak. Very dark with black core. Dusty, leafy cassis. Almost a minerally note. But pure-fruited. Juicy, elegant and fine-boned. Lovely freshness. (JH)
Proving that Ducru is so often able to rise above challenging years, this is one of the wines of the vintage, showing beautifully even at six years old. Lovely dark spices, intense and concentrated blackcurrant and black cherry fruits. The tannins are more softly spoken and finely boned than in vintages like 2015 and 2016, but they are plentiful and support the fruit, and the signature graphite and mint leaf sign-off is a textbook example of St Julien finesse. Harvest September 18 to 30. 100% new oak. Eric Boissenot consultant, Emmanuel Bonneau technical director.
The 2017 Ducru-Beaucaillou appears to have gained a little opulence since I last tasted it, just after bottling. Here it is armed with precocious blackberries, bilberry, violet petals and potpourri. Wonderful definition. The palate is medium-bodied with svelte, saturated tannins, superb intensity yet a Ducru-Beaucaillou with linearity and strictness. It is elevated by a saline finish that leaves the tongue tingling afterwards. A very fine Saint-Julien, it needs 4-5 years in the cellar. Tasted at the Ducru Beaucaillou vertical at the château.
About the producer
Second Growth estate Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou in Saint-Julien is one of the Super Seconds, an elite group of properties producing wines that regularly compete with the finest in the Médoc.