In Bond Fine Wine. 2019 Château Croix Ducru Beaucaillou Croix Ducru Beaucaillou (2nd label of Ducru), Saint-Julien, Bordeaux, France. Second wine • Red Bordeaux in 6x75cl. Top critic score: 96/100 (NM). Drinking window: 2025–2045. Sold in bond by Albany Vintners, independent fine wine merchants.
Jane Anson (JA) — 94/100 · Decanter.com, 20/05/2020 · Drink 2026 - 2042
Deep damson colour and mouthfilling from the start, this expands outwards through the palate, filling up with concentrated yet plush berry fruits, notes of smoked oak, hazelnut, grilled liquorice. A real presence, approaches the 2016 but with more evident approachability. Appealing now but sure that it will close down pretty tightly for a while as this has a high tannin count of 88IPT.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW (LPB) — 90–92/100 · Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com, 18/06/2020
The 2019 La Croix de Beaucaillou is composed of 46% Merlot, 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot. It has 14.3% alcohol and a pH of 3.78 with an IPT of 88. It is set to age for 12 months in French oak barrels, 60% new. Deep garnet-purple in color, it comes bounding out of the glass with exuberant notes of crushed blackcurrants, baked blackberries and wild blueberries plus hints of woodsmoke,…
Jane Anson (JA) — 95/100 · Inside Bordeaux, 12/01/2022 · Drink 2025-2040
Where you can drink Le Petit Ducru relatively soon, with La Croix you need to wait a few years for the structure to soften. The tannins are silky, the black fruits drenched in espresso, liquorice root spice and smoked oak. An extremely successful La Croix, sexy and powerful while still elegant and sculpted. Give it five or six years from now, and expect a drinking window of at least 15 years. Alm…