Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou 2017

JAMES SUCKLING: "Attractive, intense aromas of ripe blueberries, currants and more savory, tarry notes, as well as iodine, violets and cassis. The palate has a supple and succulent feel. This is cabernet in outright seductive mode, offering such fluid tannins and mouth-filling length. A blend of 90% cabernet sauvignon and 10% merlot. One of the stars of the vintage. Drink or hold."

WEINWISSER: "Sattes Purpur mit rubinroten Reflexen. Was für ein blauschwarzbeeriges dichtes Konzentrat, Brombeeren und Holundergelee. Im zweiten Ansatz finden sich parfümierter Pfeifentabak, frisch gepflückte Alpenheidelbeeren und exotische Hölzer. Am komplexen Gaumen mit cremiger Textur und perfekt reifen Tanninen, engmaschigem Körper und perfekt stützender Rasse. Im gebündelten Finale tiefschürfende Mineralik gepaart mit schwarzbeerigen Konturen. Die perfekte Vinifikation lässt einen nicht los, da hat sich Qualitätsfanatiker Bruno Borie zu Recht die Krone der Appellation aufgesetzt."

JEB DUNNUCK: "One of the wines of the vintage in the Medoc, the 2017 Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou comes from 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot from tiny yields of 35 hectoliters per hectare. Brought up in new barrels, it offers stunning notes of pure creme de cassis, unsmoked tobacco, lead pencil, and crushed rocks. Showing a touch of spring flowers with air, full-bodied richness and depth, awesome tannin quality, and a laser-like level of precision and purity, it’s going to need a decade of cellaring yet will have 40-50 years of prime drinking. Hats off to proprietor Bruno Borie for another magical wine."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Freshness and accessibility are the hallmarks of this wine. The customary level of density is improved with added grace, elegance, pliability and an upbeat, spicy core of attention seeking fruits. This is not to say that the wine is light. It is to explain that power has been refined with approachability, brighter fruits and exceedingly silky tannins. The wine was made from a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot and is aging in 100% new, French oak barrels. The wine reached 13.51% ABV with a pH of 3.79. The harvest took place from September 18 to September 30."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Deep purple-black in color, the 2017 Ducru-Beaucaillou slowly unfurls to reveal beautifully fragrant notes of warm kirsch, wild blueberries, fresh red and black currants and violets with wafts of underbrush and Earl Grey tea. Medium-bodied, the palate has great freshness and elegance, with very well-played, plush tannins and bags of perfumed fruit, finishing on a lingering spicy note. The wine was aged for 18 months in 100% new French oak barrels. The blend is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot."

DECANTER: "The 2017 Ducru-Beaucaillou is the first wine of the fantastic vertical tasting held by Bruno Borie. It has both a deep and elegant bouquet of dark berries, blueberry, spices, and blackcurrant; as well as a fine palate, polished tannins, and a perfectly balanced texture. This is not the most perfumed of the line-up but both the texture and tension are very elegant. This is a worthy emissary of this underestimated vintage."

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "A blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot, the 2017 Ducru-Beaucaillou is deep garnet in color. It comes bounding out of the glass with eager-to-please scents of fresh blackcurrants, black raspberries, and kirsch followed by hints of dark chocolate, clove oil, and dried mint. The medium-bodied palate shimmers with bright, intense, black and red berry layers, framed by super-plush tannins and lovely freshness, finishing long and perfumed."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "While the dense and dark tannins are prominent, they can't mask the exuberant fruit that wants to burst out. Blackberry flavors are impressively ripe and rich, shot through with acidity that gives the wine salinity as well as freshness. At the back, those tannins will allow the wine to age over many years. Don't drink before 2024."

WINE SPECTATOR: "A suave and seductive wine, with a beautifully caressing mouthfeel to the layers of warmed plum, steeped boysenberry and blackberry compote flavors. Licorice snap, mesquite, wood spice and black tea notes swirl around as the fruit plays out. A graphite spine carries the finish effortlessly. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best from 2023 through 2038. 6,666 cases made."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung, intensive schwarze Beerenfrucht, Nuancen von Cassis und Brombeeren, frische Orangenzesten, mineralischer Touch. Straff, Herzkirschen, präsente, noch etwa fordernde Tannine, schwarze Kirschen im Abgang, bleibt haften, ein würziger Speisenbegleiter mit Entwicklungspotenzial, rotbeeriger Rückgschmack."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Very dark with black core. Dusty, leafy cassis. Almost a minerally note. But pure-fruited. Juicy, elegant and fine-boned. Lovely freshness."