Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou 2020

- 95 Punkte Robert Parkers WINE ADVOCATE, William Kelley: „The 2020 Ducru-Beaucaillou unwinds in the glass with aromas of dark berries, pencil shavings, violets and pipe tobacco, all framed by creamy new oak. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy and concentrated, with a deep but tightly wound core that's still quite wrapped up in extract and oak tannin, even if it isn't quite as big-boned as its 2019 counterpart. It will require some patience.“

- 96-98 Punkte VINOUS, Neal Martin: „The 2020 Ducru Beaucaillou was picked from 11-30 September, matured entirely in new oak for an expected 18 moths. It has a very succinct bouquet, not one that leaps from the glass and demands attention, but it unfolds slowly, at ist own pace, revealing enticing scents of blackberry, cedar, iris petals and crushed stone. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit. There is a saline spine that runs through this Saint-Julien from start to finish, a quite enormous structure that exerts grip towards the fiinsh. It is not a Ducru-Beaucaillou that goes out to deliver finesse or understatement, but one that you will have to cellar for a few years, pull out and have the superlatives ready. This is an mmense and cerebral Ducru-Beaucaillou from Bruno Borie and this team.“

- 96-98 Punkte WINE ENTHUSIAST, Roger Voss: „Barrel Sample. The tannins are dense while the texture shows a dusty suspended character that gives the wine great charm. Yet, having said that, the concentration will give this wine long term aging both from the acidity and the structure.“

- 96-98 Punkte FALSTAFF, Peter Moser: „Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Feine Gewürzanklänge nach Nelken, Zimt und Kardamom, florale Nuancen, dunkle Waldbeeren, ein Hauch von Lakritze, sehr vielschichtiges, einladendes Bukett. Saftig, komplex, feine Nuancen von Brombeeren, Blaubeeren und etwas Nougat, reife, seidige Tannine, besitzt große Länge und Frische, sicheres Reifepotenzial, wirkt leichtfüßig und ausgewogen. Ein klassischer Claret der Neuzeit.“

- 17 Punkte JANCIS ROBINSON, Julia Harding: „'A mild winter resulted in early budbreak, which led to early flowering in May. Flowering and fruit set were fast, homogeneous and 2 weeks early – ideal for thick-skinned Cabernet Sauvignon. Our privileged terroirs of deep Gunziun gravel soils overlooking the Gironde helped to mitigate the climatic threats of 2020, notably frost, hail and mildew. Summer was hot and dry, with just the right amount of rain falling mostly at night, guaranteeing freshness. Conditions in September were ideal, with clear days and cool nights and a heatwave in mid September that concentrated the fruit.' Harvest: 11–30 September. 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot. 18 months in new French oak. Special presentation for the 300th anniversary of the estate. Waxed capsule.
Black core with purple rim. Dark fruited, smoother than the 2019 but less elegant. A bit closed on the palate. Chewy, dense, dry but in a lovely way. Clearly not yet showing its full potential.“

- 100 Punkte JEB DUNNUCK: „Lastly, the 2020 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou is another legendary wine from this château that has been on an incredible run over the past decade. A blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Merlot that was brought up all in new French oak, it has a saturated purple hue to go with an incredible, mineral-laced bouquet of crème de cassis, liquid violets, graphite, and tobacco leaf. More structured and concentrated than any of the Léovilles, this blockbuster, deep, concentrated, full-bodied Saint-Julien has off-the-charts purity, ultra-fine tannins, and a great, great finish. I wrote in my notes, "Like the 2010, only better." You won't find a more concentrated yet flawlessly balanced and elegant wine out there. It's going to need a decade of cellaring and will have 40, 50, if not 60 years of longevity.“

- 97 Punkte JAMES SUCKLING: „Blackcurrants and blueberries with violets and crushed stone. Extremely aromatic. Full-bodied but very tight and reserved, with racy, almost steely tannins. Some subtle sweet fruit in the center palate. Great transparency and clarity. Super precision here. Vertical and polished. Try after 2028.“

- 97-99 Punkte JEFF LEVE

- 97-98 Punkte ALEXANDRE MA

- 97-98 Punkte BETTANE & DESSEAUVE

- Notizen des Weinguts zum neuen Etikett: In celebration of its tercentenary, Château Ducru-Beaucaillou has reinvented its historic label. At once elegant and sophisticated, decisively modern and audaciously disruptive, the new design nonetheless maintains continuity with the estate’s history and centuries-old values, striking a magnificent balance between the classic and the contemporary in an expression of joy and liberty. Capturing the brilliance, perspectives, and energy of the 2020 vintage, the design is the result of a holistic approach to the aesthetics of the bottle and the wine within. A true aficionado of contemporary art, Bruno-Eugène Borie explains his affinities: “It was our conviction that the creation of this ephemeral label designed expressly for ChâteauDucru-Beaucaillou’s three hundredth vintage had to be seen as an event in and of itself. It was necessarily inspired by a kind of poetic rebirth of Ducru-Beaucaillou’s legendary label, which had remained unchanged since its creation by the Johnstons in 1870. This new design recalls major art movements and techniques of the twentieth century: abstract art, collage, destructured forms, and new realism.”
The playful yet deliberate design is reminiscent of lacerated works of art, and the triple collage of the Victorian tower from the château’s southern façade incarnates the estate’s three centuries of existence and the three generations of the Borie family to helm Château Ducru-Beaucaillou. Like a series of triptychs or ripple effects, they lend resonance to the dazzling illuminations of those inspired beings who have from one era to the next sublimated this most exceptional wine as they sought out myriad expressions of the spirit and celebrations of the ineffable.
Pure and modern, the tricentenary logotype appears in enameled orange characters on the bottle’s shoulder, just above the label. The upper part of the neck is sealed with wax embossed with the estate’s seal in its signature orange hue, a color that evokes Orient, Asia and the Palladian art forms that the Johnstons held dear. It is a design in which the present and the past come together in the pursuit of excellence, a feast for the eyes that is a fitting prelude to the delights of the precious nectar within."

- 19+ Punkte WEINWISSER: " pH 3.83, TPI 90, 13.5 %-vol, Ausbau 18 Monate in 100 % neuen Barriques. Vielschichtiges Bouquet mit frisch gepflückten schwarzen Johannisbeeren, Alpenheidelbeere und Lakritze, dahinter verführerisches Veilchenparfüm, Zedern und Holundergelee. Am konzentrierten Gaumen mit seidiger Textur, herrlicher Extraktfülle, dabei ungeheuer präzise, engmaschiges Tanningerüst, perfekt reif gelesen und den mächtigen Körper perfekt stützend. Im Finale ein Feuerwerk von blauen Beeren, dunklem Graphit und spürbarer Adstringenz. Erinnert an den mächtigen 2010er mit einer höheren Konzentration an Aromen und dichteren Tanninen! 300j. Jubiläum: «Forever Vigneron»!"

- 19 Punkte Rene Gabriels BORDEAUX TOTAL, Andre Kunz: „(81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 13.5% vol. Alkohol) Konzentriertes, tiefgründiges, komplexes, sehr dunkles Bouquet, schwarzer Cassis, schwarze Beeren, Black Currant. Konzentrierter, vielschichtiger, eleganter Gaumen mit kräftiger, dichter, schwarzer Frucht, konzentrierter, eleganter, fein muskulöser Struktur, sehr viel feinem Tannin, dichter, komprimierter, dunkler, vielfältiger Aromatik, sehr langer, kräftiger, eleganter Abgang mit vielen, dunklen Rückaromen. Kann noch zulegen. 2029 – 2060“