The freshness and fruity framework of a Saint-Julien red wine
Sensory Features:A seamless, suave and slender Ducru in 2022 that marries terroir minerality with concentrated fruit and extremely well controlled tannins. Focussed and precise with clarity and detail offering both power and poise. It’s brooding still, heavily scented with ripe and intense fruit and tannins that fill the mouth with a chalky, intentional grip but underpinned by vibrant energy. Everything is in high definition; bramble fruit, plums, damsons, cherries, bitter orange zest, graphite, flint and salty stones. Compact but sophisticated with a dark savoury nature right now but with crunchy and cool aspects too.
Grape Varieties: 82% Cabernet Sauvignon & 18% Merlot
Estate: Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, the emblematic Cru Classé of Saint-Julien, oversees a prestigious terroir. Over the last 300 years, six families have worked together to ensure that this Cru, with its unrivalled worldwide reputation, continues to shine. Owned by the Borie family since 1941, Château Ducru-Beaucaillou takes its name from its "beautiful pebbles" (beau caillou) terroir of Günzian gravel. Managed by Bruno Borie, Château Ducru-Beaucaillou ranks among the elite of Saint-Julien's great red wines. Vintage after vintage, its wines delight lovers of fine Médoc wines the world over.
Vineyard: What makes Château Ducru-Beaucaillou so special is the exceptional quality of its vineyards. The vines are planted on soils of Günzian and Pyrenean gravel deposited by the Gironde estuary almost two million years ago. These poor soils produce exceptional Saint-Julien wines.
Vintage: There was a lot of rainfall during the winter, allowing the water reserves in the soil to be replenished. Spring and summer were characterised by drought and intense heat. The high temperatures in May were conducive to early and rapid flowering and fruit set. Hot, dry conditions in August slowed down veraison, but were counterbalanced by rains which helped the vineyards and boosted ripening.
Winemaking & Ageing: Fermentation takes place in state-of-the-art conical wooden vats. Automatic, gentle pump-overs is split over 24 hours. Aging lasts 18 months.
