x
  • Country ranking ?

    1 183
  • Producer ranking ?

    33
  • Decanting time

    3h
  • When to drink

    now to 2030
  • Food Pairing

    Roast lamb served medium-rare

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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Each year, Wine Spectator editors survey the wines reviewed over the previous 12 months and select our Top 100, based on quality, value, availability and excitement. This annual list honors successful wineries, regions and vintages around the world.

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 1995 was the Wine of the Year in 1998

The greatest Ducru produced this century. Breathtaking aromas of berries, violets, vanilla and blackberries set the stage for a wine that's full-bodied and tannic, yet very fine and long in the mouth. This has fabulous structure for aging. Best after 2004. 18,000 cases made. —JS  97 points

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The Story

Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou is named after the beautiful, large stones found in its unique wine-growing terroir. This exceptional ecosystem produces fine, elegant, tasty wines, with a long finish – in short, archetypal Saint-Julien wines.

Perched on an exceptional site with incomparable views over the Gironde estuary, in the centre of a hundred-year-old park, Ducru-Beaucaillou is a majestic, Victorian-style castle, which has, over time, become one of the great symbols of the Médoc. Unusually for Bordeaux, it is built directly above the barrel cellars, enveloping its owners, who have lived here for over sixty years, in the sumptuous aromas of their wine.

Today, the estate is managed by the company Jean Eugène Borie SA, which is owned by Mrs Borie, her daughter Sabine Coiffe and her son Bruno-Eugène, CEO since 2003, the third generation of the Borie family to head the estate.

There are very close links between this estate and the five families who have been its successive owners.

The grapes are all harvested manually. They are sorted in the vines on mobile tables to avoid contact between unhealthy and healthy grapes during transport to the vat room.The vinification of each plot is done individually to optimise the choice of blends. Moreover, the fermentations are carried out separately and customized to take account of terroir, grape variety and vintage characteristics. We generally operate gentle extraction and keep the must at traditional temperatures with moderate lengths and frequencies of pumping-over.The press drains off continuously into barrels to facilitate the selection of the press-wine batches. Malolactic fermentation is managed in vats for optimal control.

The wine is barrelled in duly identified individual batches immediately after malolactic fermentation. Blending takes place during the first racking operation; for Ducru Beaucaillou, between 50 and 80% of new barrels are used according to the richness of the vintage. The barrels (225L Bordeaux barrels, French oak) are supplied by 5 carefully selected cooperages giving every guarantee. The wine is matured for 18 months in accordance with Medoc traditions for classified growths. Bottling is performed with special care in regard to both oenological controls and homogenisation of the overall batch. The 5 cork makers supplying the estate have signed a detailed and stringent quality charter. 

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Vintage 1995

Bordeaux / An excellent year for both sides of the Gironde and just the vintage that Bordeaux needed after the rain affected vintages of the previous 4 years. A mild winter and early spring was followed by a dry, hot summer. It did rain in early September but the rain was less than in the previous 4 vintages and, crucially, there was perfect weather from September 20th through to October.

Quality is high across all levels and appellations, with the Merlot-dominated wines of St-Emilion andPomerol being particularly successful. The best wines are very ripe and display good concentration and structure.

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Tasting note

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Written Notes

The next flight began with a ‘much older’ wine. Its nose was nutty, too, and there were also great earth and cereal aromas, along with light game and Christmas spice. Its palate was round and oily with some brown sugar goodness. This was lush and voluptuous with light grit. The palate was stunningly delicious and also ‘elegant’ per Tom. It seemed like the right time to drink this 1995 Ducru Beaucaillou (95).
  • 95p

Tasted in November 2022. 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc. This vintage was better on the Right Bank than the Left Bank, as Cabernet Sauvignon had problems gaining perfect maturity. This wine provided nicely constructed wine with good fruit, slightly harsh tannin, and a raw finish. Maybe this wine needs time to soften.

  • 91p

Intense garnet colour with almost black core. Complex nose with ethereal character, balmy spices, opulent ripe fruit reminiscent of black cherries and blackcurrants, Crème de Cassis and black truffles. In the background hints of cigar box. On the palate full-bodied and well structured with velvety tannins, excellent balance, a flavour reminiscent of chocolate and dark fruits, elegant yet persistent with excellent length.

  • 97p
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Information

Origin

St.Julien, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Excellent

Value For Money

Good

Investment potential

No Potential

Fake factory

None

Glass time

2h

Highlights

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