Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou 2020

JEB DUNNUCK: "Another legendary Ducru Beaucaillou in the making, the 2020 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou hasn't budged since release. Full-bodied, concentrated, and layered, it has incredible purity in its cassis and darker, almost blue fruits, some classic yet primary tobacco, graphite, and mineral notes, a dense mid-palate, and awesome length on the finish. It's very much in the style of the 2010 and deserves at least a decade of bottle age. I won't be around to taste it, but I suspect this will still be offering pleasure on its 100th birthday."

DECANTER: "Evocative and moreish, a Ducru that beguiles and delights from the start with a scented nose full of cedar, rose, violets, cherries and damsons - a riot of Cabernet typicity. Vibrant and pulsing on the palate, this has grip and intention from the get-go. Massy, full and wide in the mouth - there’s density and this is broad but it’s delicate too - a sense of weightlessness with such movement and energy and a soft sweet, succulent grip throughout. Powerful with present tannins that unravel slowly so there’s time to appreciate the details as they come. A thoughtful and intellectual wine that leaves a smile on your face."

WEINWISSER: "81 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 19 % Merlot, pH 3.83, TPI 90, Alkohol 13.5 vol %, Ausbau 18 Monate in 100% neuen Barriques. Tiefes Purpur mit opaker Mitte und zartem lila Rand. Vielschichtiges Bouquet mit frisch gepflückten schwarzen Johannisbeere, Alpenheidelbeere und Lakritze, dahinter verführerisches Veilchenparfüm, Zedern und Holundergelee. Am konzentrierten Gaumen mit seidiger Textur, herrliche Extraktfülle, bleibt dabei ungeheuer präzise, engmaschiges Tanningerüst, perfekt reif gelesen und den mächtigen Körper perfekt stützend. Im komplexen Finale ein Feuerwerk von blauen Beeren, dunkles Graphit und spürbare Adstringenz. Erinnert mich an den mächtigen 2010er mit einer höheren Konzentration an Aromen und dichteren Tanninen! 300j. Jubiläum: "Forever Vigneron"!"

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "With a dark hue, you instantly find incense, black cherries, flowers, spice, and a plethora of red and black fruits. The wine is concentrated, full-bodied, ripe, rich, soft, and polished. There is purity to the fruit, silk to the tannins, complexity on the mid-palate, and length in the finish. The fruit is bright, fresh, and pure with a beautiful sensation of elegance from start to finish. This gem should start to really unfurl after its 10th birthday and provide fabulous drinking for 25-35 years after that. This is a stunningly graceful Ducru Beaucaillou. Produced from blending 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Merlot, 13.5% ABV. Picking took place September 11 - September 30. Drink from 2027-2055."

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."

FALSTAFF: "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."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "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."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "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."