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  • Country ranking ?

    1 172
  • Producer ranking ?

    34
  • Decanting time

    2h
  • When to drink

    2020-2035
  • Food Pairing

    Beef

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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, becom...

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Wine Information

96 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 1996 is long, with a deep mid-palate. It also reveals tannin in the finish. This wine is remarkable. It is muscular, concentrated, and classic. Bottled in late June, 1998, it exhibits a saturated ruby/purple color, as well as a knock-out nose of minerals, licorice, cassis, and an unmistakable lead pencil smell that I often associate with top vintages of Lafite-Rothschild. It is sweet and full-bodie...

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Vintage 1996

1996 presents itself as a “classic” Bordeaux year, although – as Jancis Robinson MW wrote – not in the “lean” sense; Although Farr Vintners director Tom Hudson told the drinks industry it may have been a "very good" rather than "really great" year as it was not uniformly excellent across the region .

As a reminder, 1996 was a particularly promising vintage for Médoc wines. The Berry Bros & Rudd website boasts: “This is one of the great post...

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Tasting note

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Written Notes

The 1995 was paired with – what else – but the 1996 Ducru Beaucaillou. There was more cinnamon here, along with Asian spice, but this was all about the red, red fruits. A splash of game rounded out the nose, and its palate was even lusher and sweeter. It felt like it was entering a long plateau of maturity. There was more spice and a touch of good prickle on its finish, which was also drier. Cherry ice cream flavors rounded out its palate, although one guest found it a ‘touch ripe’ (94).
  • 94p
Ducru Beaucaillou 1996/ An extreme year in Bordeaux with unsettled weather conditions throughout the summer. Great temperature fluctuations from hot to cool and stormy showers in between. Médoc was able to avoid the heaviest rains. The dry and cool weather in September lasted for three weeks until rains hit the area again. Deep ruby, almost opaque colour. Extremely refined nose with many layers – blackcurrants, cedar, cigars, tobacco, roasted coffee, hints of capsicum. Restrained medium-bodied palate shows moderately high acidity, refined powdery tannins and deliciously ripe black fruit character. The concentrated texture holds elegant touches of spicy and toasty oak flavours. Long lingering mineral rich finish.
  • 90p

Ruby, blackberries and anise, liquorice nose, dark fruits. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, anise, leaner bodied, red fruits and spices. Long finish. 92

  • 92p

Tasted in November 2022. 75% Cabernet Sauvignon + 25% Merlot. Very compact, very Cabernet Sauvignon, lot of cassis, cedar wood, tobacco leaves, and black truffles on the nose. Juicy and refined on the palate with fine depth and strong structure. Long and meaty finish. Still youthful and full of great potential.

  • 94p

Alcohol 13%.  There is a tough of cream to the nose.  The tangy and ripe, powdery blue fruit builds grip as it leaves flavor on the gums.  Powerful structure.  With air the wine develops attractiveness as the components balance out. ***(*) 2020 – 2030.

  • 88p
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Origin

St.Julien, Bordeaux
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