2019 La Croix de Ducru-Beaucaillou Saint Julien

Winemaker Notes:  Produced from a plot-by-plot selection of vines from Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou, La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou offers a unique expression of the great terroir of Saint-Julien. This "high-flying" cuvée is made from vines located to the east, center and west of the AOC Saint-Julien.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM


Vinous - "The 2019 La Croix Ducru Beaucaillou is endowed with a gorgeous, quite sumptuous bouquet loaded with black plum, tobacco, smoke and Earl Grey aromas that burst from the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with very pliant tannin, harmonious and velvety in texture, gradually building towards a detailed and mineral-driven finish. Maybe less opulent than the 2018 by comparison, yet a Deuxième Vin full of breeding. - Neal Martin (94-96pts)"


Decanter - "Where you can drink Le Petit Ducru relatively soon, with La Croix you need to wait a few years for the structure to soften. The tannins are silky, the black fruits drenched in espresso, liquorice root spice and smoked oak. An extremely successful La Croix, sexy and powerful while still elegant and sculpted. Give it five or six years from now, and expect a drinking window of at least 15 years. Almost entirely from specific plots within the Ducru vineyard, plus a few young vines of the Grand Vin. 60% new oak."


James Suckling - "A young red with very pretty blackberries, blueberries and stone. Hints of currant leaf. Full with firm yet polished tannins. Slightly austere, in a good sense. Persistent at the end. Linear and bright. (93-94pts)"


Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - "The 2019 La Croix de Beaucaillou is composed of 46% Merlot, 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot. It has 14.3% alcohol and a pH of 3.78 with an IPT of 88. It is set to age for 12 months in French oak barrels, 60% new. Deep garnet-purple in color, it comes bounding out of the glass with exuberant notes of crushed blackcurrants, baked blackberries and wild blueberries plus hints of woodsmoke, chargrill, black truffles and lilacs with a waft of fertile loam. Medium to full-bodied, the palate quivers with energetic black fruits, framed by bold freshness and ripe, rounded tannins, finishing on a lingering mineral note. (90-92pts)"