Château Ducru-Beaucaillou - St.-Julien 2019 (750ml)

JebDunnuck.com, Bordeaux 2019 From Bottle (4/11/2022)
(Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou) "The wine of the vintage in Saint-Julien, if not all of the Médoc, the 2019 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou is based on 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot, aged in 100% new French oak, that hit a natural alcohol of 14.2% with a monster IPT (number of tannins) of 88. It's certainly one of the most concentrated Saint-Juliens, revealing a dense purple hue to go with a stacked bouquet of crème de cassis, freshly sharpened pencils, damp clay, tobacco, and hints of spring flowers. Concentrated, full-bodied, and powerful, it has incredible tannins, flawless balance, and a gorgeous finish. While most estates today are playing it safe and producing more ethereal, elegant wines that drink well right out of the gate, thankfully, this estate continues to make concentrated, powerful, age-worthy wines, and this heavenly beauty is as good as it gets! It will need a decade of bottle age to hit the early stages of maturity and will evolve for 50 years or more. Bravo to Bruno Borie! (Drink between 2032-2072)  100 points"

By Jane Anson
Decanter, Bordeaux En Primeur 2019 St-Julien (5/13/2020)
(Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, St-Julien, Bordeaux, France, Red) "Inky depths to the concentrated ruby colour, the Cabernet Sauvignon imposes itself strongly from the first moment. No question that we are slap-bang in St Julien here, in the heart of this appellation's signature, with its elegance, balance and hidden power. At first the wine feels taut and austere, but performs the trick of changing as it travels through the palate, and by the end of play the texture is almost creamy, with blackberry, bilberry, black chocolate, cigar box, slate and liquorice. A big accomplishment, making this an unmissable Ducru. (Drink between 2029-2045)  98 points"

Wine Advocate 96

"Powerful and muscular, the 2019 Ducru-Beaucaillou offers up aromas of cassis, raspberries and cherries mingled with notions of violets and iris, framed by a generous application of creamy new oak. Full-bodied, velvety and concentrated, it's rich but lively, with a deep core of fruit and an ample endowment of ripe, powdery tannins. Fuller maturity and a more rigorous selection over the last two decades have brought what proprietor Bruno Borie characterizes as additional "punch" to this wine, in the form of unprecedented levels of anthocyanins and tannins, but all that substance and structure will require some patience before we'll see if Ducru is still Saint-Julien's most elegant wine."

By Neal Martin
Vinous, Omne Trium Perfectum: Bordeaux 2019s in Bottle (Feb 2022) (2/1/2022)
(Ducru-Beaucaillou Ducru-Beaucaillou Red) "The 2019 Ducru Beaucaillou, which was matured in 100% new oak for 12 months, has a glorious bouquet of cigar humidor, cedar, black fruit and a touch of black truffle, very complex and quite compelling. The palate is still very Pauillac-inspired in style, and finely proportioned, with chiseled tannins. Displaying superb clarity and salinity on the finish, this feels very persistent and utterly charming. It will repay a decade in bottle and then last several more. I believe this will outperform the 2018 in the long run. (Drink between 2030-2070)  98 points"