Appellations

Croix Ducru Beaucaillou (2nd label of Ducru) 2017

St Julien, Second wine

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Tasting Notes

The 2017 La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou is loaded with dark stone fruit, grilled herb, lavender and torrefaction notes. Powerful and dense, with serious richness, La Croix is anything but an easygoing second wine. In 2017 La Croix is built on a core of Merlot rather than Cabernet, which likely accounts for the wine's rich mid-palate and fleshy feel. The blend is 58% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot.

Score: 90 - 93 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Date: 01 May 2018

The 2017 La Croix de Beaucaillou sees 60% new oak for 12 months, with a fairly high IPT of 75. It has a ripe and generous bouquet of blackberry, fresh fig, cedar and crushed violets that blossom in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, a fine bead of acidity, that structure making its presence felt towards the finish that exerts an insistent grip. As such, this will probably require three or four years in bottle just to soften the edges.

Score: 90 - 92 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2021-2035 Date: 01 May 2018

This is not a second wine per se, as it consistently comes from a separate vineyard in Saint-Julien. The blend is usually around 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, but this year it has a high percentage of Merlot: 58%, with 39% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 La Croix de Beaucaillou has quite a spicy nose sporting cloves, anise, black pepper and fenugreek with a core of crushed blackberries and black currants plus wafts of underbrush and potpourri. The palate is medium-bodied with firm, grainy tannins and great freshness supporting the vivacious fruit, finishing long and earthy.

Score: 89 - 91 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Date: 27 April 2018

Deep crimson. Again that scented cherry fruit that I tasted in Lalande Borie with just a hint of char. Savoury as well as sweet-fruited – definite red fruit on the silky mid palate. Firmer on the finish but lots of fruit in the middle and a long, juicy, fresh finish. Fine tannins and just a hint of chocolate-sweet tannins on the finish.

Score: 16 - 17 Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson.com Maturity: 2024-2035 Date: 27 April 2018

A blend of 58% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 3% Petit Verdot, 60% new oak, the deep ruby-colored 2017 La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou from the charismatic winemaker Bruno Borie is another elegant, seamless wine from this vintage. It’s certainly a high-quality second wine. (It’s more like a second cuvée as it comes from a designated sector of vines.) Crème de cassis, crushed flowers, violets, and forest floor notes all flow to a medium-bodied, silky 2017 that has fine, fine tannin and plenty of length. Drink it while you wait on the Grand Vin.

Score: 90 - 92 Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com Date: 23 April 2018

This is very fresh and minerally with a salty and oyster shell character. Full body, tight and bright. Plenty of currant flavors too.

Score: 92 - 93 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com Date: 06 April 2018

Solid, with a fresh beam of plum, black currant and anise flavors riding along a racy graphite edge. Clear and focused. Not big but a textbook St.-Julien.

Score: 89 - 92 James Molesworth, Wine Spectator Date: 04 April 2018

The Merlot here is grown on sandy-gravel soils and brings both freshness and structure. There's good balance, plush autumnal berry fruits and lovely spice, supported by well placed, delicate tannins. It's a clear Médoc twist on the varietal, even though this is a little lusher and more approachable than in recent years where Cabernet Sauvignon has been higher in the blend - last year it was at 66%, but vintage conditions in 2017 affected some of the crop. It's a little different in expression from 2016, but is an extremely high quality, great drinking wine. 3.74pH. IPT 75.

Score: 91 Jane Anson, Decanter.com Maturity: 2025-2038 Date: 01 April 2018