2011 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, St Julien, Bordeaux

2011 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, St Julien, Bordeaux

Product: 20118008844
Prices start from £650.00 per case Buying options
2011 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, St Julien, Bordeaux

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Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
Case format
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Price per case
12 x 75cl bottle
BBX marketplace BBX 1 case £1,300.00
6 x 75cl bottle
BBX marketplace BBX 1 case £650.00
3 x 150cl magnum
BBX marketplace BBX 2 cases £640.00
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Description

“Truly sensational” was how I described this wine after tasting. It is quite stunning and romps over several of the First Growths again this year. It’s about harmony and grace but backed up with true weight and depth. Sexy is not a word we used often this year, but this really is sexy. Bruno Borie describes his 2009 as Beyonce, 2010 as Charlize Theron and 2011 as Nicole Kidman, a demure, sophisticated femme fatale.

Now, I hold nothing against the ginger persuasion (some of my best friends are that way “blessed “) but I think he’s doing his beauty a slight disservice. I put 2011 Ducru in the Salma Hayek, Dusk til Dawn (pre vampire turn of course)category. Heavenly with more curves than the Nurburgring. If you can afford to treat yourself to one true “Super Second” this year this would be the one I’d go for, and, with any luck it might be affordable. Come on Bruno, you can do it, next year could be Hattie Jakes!
Simon Staples, Berrys’ Fine Wine Director

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Critics reviews

Wine Advocate92+/100
The 2011 Ducru Beaucaillou (which normally represents 1/3 to of the entire crop) possesses a dense ruby/purple color along with a beautiful nose of sweet creme de cassis, crushed rock and spring flower aromas. This rich, medium to full-bodied St.-Julien is among the most concentrated wines of the Medoc. Moderate tannin is sweet and well-integrated. This beauty will benefit from 3-5 years of cellaring and keep for two decades.
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - 30/04/2014 Read more
Robert Parker93-95/100
One of the vintage’s stars, the 2011 Ducru Beaucaillou is a riveting blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot. It boasts an inky/blue/purple color as well as an extraordinary nose of creme de cassis, licorice, subtle wood smoke and spring flowers, a surprising, full-bodied mouthfeel, and stunning intensity, purity, symmetry and length. Production at this estate used to be 12,000-15,000 cases, but after instituting a strict selection in addition to the smallest yields ever at this vineyard, it is down to 9,000 cases. The 2011 has considerable tannin, but it is soft and well-integrated. It should drink well for 20+ years. Readers should also be aware of just how sensational the second wine can be.

If you haven’t noticed yet, it’s time to jump on Bruno Borie’s bandwagon for the two wines being produced from separate parts of the Ducru Beaucaillou vineyard.
Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - April 2012

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Decanter18/20
The 2011 Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou Saint-Julien offers strikingly floral Cabernet ripeness, finesse and purity, lovely texture, beautifully expressive wine almost Margaux style, total opposite to Leoville Las Cases. Read more

About this WINE

Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou

Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou is a St-Julien property that today is one of the leading Super Seconds. It is owned by the Borie family and is situated in the south-east of the St-Julien appellation. Ducru-Beaucaillou's 50 hectares of vineyards (Cabernet Sauvignon 65%, Merlot 25%, Cabernet Franc 5% and Petit Verdot 5%) lie on deep, large-stone gravel beds enriched with alluvial soil deposits and with a high clay content. The wines are matured in oak barriques (50-60% new) for 18 months.

For many, Ducru-Beaucaillou is the quintessential St-Julien - deep-coloured, powerful, ripe, exquisitely well-balanced and perfectly harmonious. It requires a minimum of 10 years of bottle ageing before it should be approached and the best vintages will continue improving for many more years. Ducru-Beaucaillou is classified as a 2ème Cru Classé.

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St Julien

St Julien

St Julien is the smallest of the "Big Four" Médoc communes. Although, without any First Growths, St Julien is recognised to be the most consistent of the main communes, with several châteaux turning out impressive wines year after year. 

St Julien itself is much more of a village than Pauillac and almost all of the notable properties lie to its south. Its most northerly château is Ch. Léoville Las Cases (whose vineyards actually adjoin those of Latour in Pauillac) but,  further south, suitable vineyard land gives way to arable farming and livestock until the Margaux appellation is reached.  

The soil is gravelly and finer than that of Pauillac, and without the iron content which gives Pauillac its stature. The homogeneous soils in the vineyards (which extend over a relatively small area of just over 700 hectares) give the commune a unified character.

The wines can be assessed as much by texture as flavour, and there is a sleek, wholesome character to the best. Elegance, harmony and perfect balance and weight, with hints of cassis and cedar, are what epitomise classic St Julien wines. At their very best they combine Margaux’s elegance and refinement with Pauillac’s power and substance.

Ch. Léoville Las Cases produces arguably the most sought-after St Julien, and in any reassessment of the 1855 Classification it would almost certainly warrant being elevated to First Growth status.

Recommended Châteaux: Ch. Léoville Las CasesCh.Léoville Barton, Ch Léoville Poyferré, Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou, Ch Langoa Barton, Ch Gruaud Larose, Ch. Branaire-Ducru, Ch. Beychevelle

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Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.

In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.

In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and  Australia.

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