2022 Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou Pre-Arrival Offer

As a relatively large estate in Saint-Julien, the 75 hectare Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou estate is planted to 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot, at a density of 10,000 vines per hectare. They also own a small parcel of land in Haut-Medoc.

Changes in the winery, and a greater focus on parcel selection for the Grand Vin has resulted in a reduction in output from around 20,000 cases per year in the 1980’s to around 10,000 cases today. And the wines have never looked better. The pair of 2009 and 2010, along with the 2016 are considered standouts for the region, intense and concentrated efforts that will live for many years to come.

Other Reviews....
One of the Médoc's most powerful wines this year is the 2022 Ducru-Beaucaillou, a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18% Merlot that opens in the glass with aromas of dark cherries and berries mingled with pencils shavings, vanilla pod and spices. Full-bodied, broad-shouldered and muscular, with a core of ripe but lively fruit underpinned by a chassis of powdery, liberally extracted tannin that asserts itself on the finish, it's a punchy, modern Saint-Julien reminiscent of a hypothetical blend of the 2018 and 2020.
94-96 points
William Kelley - Wine Advocate (Apr 2023)

The 2022 Ducru-Beaucaillou is elegant and nuanced. Bright red/purplish fruit, rose petal, blood orange, mint and spice give the 2022 unusual brilliance. In most recent vintages, Ducru has been on the opulent side. The 2022, on the other hand, is strict and linear in construction, a wine that is more about persistence than size. Bright saline underpinnings extend the mid-palate into the striking, beaming finish. Harvest took place over four weeks, the longest ever, as opposed to the two weeks or so that is the norm. Yields were 30hL per hectare, down from the 35-37 typical in recent years. Drink 2032-2052.
95-97 points
Antonio Galloni - Vinous

Some much creme de cassis and blackcurrant aromas and flavors here. Full-bodied with powerful tannins, yet fine and layered. Chewy. You can really feel the thick grape skins here. Excellent length. Tannins spread across the palate. Minerally and crushed stone.
97-98 points
James Suckling

Moving to the Grand Vin, it's a slightly more Merlot-influenced blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18% Merlot, raised in new barrels. It brings the same level of concentration and structure as the La Croix but has another level of class, elegance, and purity, with sensational aromatics of crème de cassis, graphite, crushed stone, sandalwood, and graphite. The purity here is truly remarkable, and it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, perfectly integrated oak, silky tannins, and a great finish. This beauty hit 14% natural alcohol with a pH of 3.8 and an IPT of 95. Given its balance as well as its texture, it's going to offer pleasure with just short-term cellaring yet also evolve for decades.
97-99 points
Jeb Dunnuck

Beautiful and beguiling nose, perfumed blackcurrants and dark fruits; damsons, plums, raspberries and rose petals. Lovely crunchy fruit, real bite and presence in the mouth. Excellent precision, tannins are succulent and ripe they fill the mouth with a juicy, intense granular texture. There is such depth to this - perfume, tobacco, earth, violets and concentrated fruits that have a verticality to them with an unprecedented 98% of Cabernet Sauvignon providing the support and the backbone. There is a crystalline purity to the fruit giving tension to the overall frame, it’s focused and driven all with excellent definition. This is not a wallflower of a wine - it’s charming and confident, strutting its stuff right now and giving you absolut St-Julien terroir and vintage markers in the glass with slate, graphite and liquorice salinity on show. Skilled winemaking on show. Drink 2030 - 2050.
97 points
Georgina Hindle - Decanter

Inky dark in color, the wine exudes blackberries, smoke, currants, nutmeg, flowers, Cuban cigar wrapper, black cherries, smoke, and spice in the nose. On the palate, the wine is dense, and intense, yet light on its feet with seemingly, endless waves of deep, black and red, spicy fruits. There is symmetry, balance, and freshness on the palate. The tannins are present, silky, and refined. The wine is silky, supple, creamy, and seamless in the finish, which moves from black fruits, to red fruits and back to black fruits with spice, and accents of mint and a touch of citrus at the very end of the finish, which lingers for at least 60 seconds. Ducru Beaucaillou has been on an unstoppable roll since 2009. Produced from blending 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Merlot, 14% ABV, 3.8 pH. Picking took place September 7 -- October 4. Drink from 2028-2065.
98-100 points
Jeff Leve - The Wine Cellar Insider

Conditions of Pre Arrival Offer:
1. There is no minimum order unless stated.
2. All wines are 750ml unless indicated otherwise.
3. Payment is due at the time of ordering to secure stocks.
4. The wines are being collected and shipped in refrigerated containers and are due to arrive in late 2025.
5. Nicks Wine Merchants reserve the right to pass on any changes in Government duties and taxes and delivery charges from the date of order to the date of final delivery of the wine.
6. Errors and omissions excepted.
7. Delivery charges may apply - these can be determined by visiting the Freight Rates page.