Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou 2019

 Compelling from start to finish, the black, purple color invites you in. From there, the perfume, with its array of flowers, black, red, and blue fruit, chocolate, espresso, licorice, and liqueur lets you know you are in for a treat. And, that happens as soon as the multiple waves of fruit start coating your palate with their layers of perfectly ripe, silky, seductive, fresh, opulent, velvety, pure black, red, and blueberries. Along with 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022, this is in line to be one of the best vintages ever produced at Ducru Beaucaillou! The wine blends 80% Cabernet Sauvignon with 20% Merlot. Drink from 2030-2065.

The nose leads with delicate violets and fresh cassis berries, drawing you into the glass to reveal its layers of rich black fruits, kirsch, blackberry coulis and blueberry spread, with cocoa bean, roasted coffee, and nuances of Asian spices, clove and cardamon. The palate has impressive precision with a flesh of densely concentrated fruits wrapped around a very firm structure of tightly knit, cashmere textured tannins, supported by exquisite freshness. The highly perfumed flavours fill the palate with impressive purity and persistence, with a mix of crushed gravel and cassis purée that linger. Pure elegance, power, and grace.

Weather: mild winter/spring conditions prompted early budburst. Cooler temperatures in April and May delayed flowering, though a rise in
temperatures in mid-June resulted in a successful fruit set. Summer was hot, with temperatures higher-than-average from June 23 through to October giving small, concentrated berries. Late July brought welcomed rains, rejuvenated
the vines. August and September saw lightrains and cooler night temperatures, which helped to retain acidity and prolong the ripening phase, yielding wines with sophisticated tannins and intense, yet elegant aromatics.

Just as concentrated yet more elegant, the flagship 2019 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou checks in as a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot raised in new French oak. It offers a gorgeous bouquet of pure crème de cassis and blueberry fruit that just screams of Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep purple-hued, with plenty of lead pencil, graphite, and floral notes, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a deep, layered mid-palate, straight-up awesome tannins, and a monster of a finish. It's another magical wine in the making from this château. Give bottles a decade in the cellar if you can (it's going to be incredibly enjoyable in its youth as well), and it will evolve for 40-50 years or more. 
Barrel Sample:97-100

Ducru Beaucaillou – 80% Cabernet Sauvignon + 20% Merlot, 14.2% alcohol, 100% new oak. A textbook effort from this property, perfectly combining power and elegance. Great complex nose of dense blackcurrants and palate coated with creamy berries and sweet tannins. Riveting structure, sophisticated and multi-layered. Awesome finish. Exceptional stuff. 98+p.