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2017 La Croix de Beaucaillou

Removed from a professional wine storage facility

9 available
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Ends Sunday, 7pm Pacific

RATINGS

94Wine Enthusiast

Black-currant flavors are layered within the ripe structure of a fruity wine with a great future.

93James Suckling

Intense and pure aromas of blueberries and cassis here,. The palate has a smooth, fine-edged core of tannin and a good build of rich fruit flavor. Some graphite to the black fruit.

93+ Jeb Dunnuck

It has a great nose of creme de cassis, crushed rock, lead pencil, and dried herbs. This gives way to a medium to full-bodied, elegant wine that has silky tannins, a great mid-palate, and bright acidity.

92Vinous / IWC

...bold, juicy and super expressive...rush of blackberry jam, chocolate, licorice and spice all build in a Saint-Julien loaded with resonance and volume.

89-91The Wine Advocate

...has quite a spicy nose sporting cloves, anise, black pepper and fenugreek with a core of crushed blackberries and black currants plus wafts of underbrush and potpourri...palate is medium-bodied with firm, grainy tannins and great freshness supporting the vivacious fruit, finishing long and earthy.

15.5Jancis Robinson

Smoky, seductive and sweet spices on the nose. Cedar, summer fruits and crunchy tannins at the core. Quite spicy, with generous helpings of sweet oak. Despite the rich oak flavour the fruit remains in balance on a long finish.

PRODUCER

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou (Second Label)

La Croix de Beaucaillou is the second label of Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, which is a Second-Growth estate in the St.-Julien appellation. The estate’s history goes back centuries, and five families have owned and operated it over many generations. Today the 128-acre estate is owned by the Borie family, who purchased it in 1941. The family also owns Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste and Château Haut-Batailley. Ducru-Beaucaillou means “beautiful stones,” and the estate was named after the impressive, large stones in the region. Vineyards are planted to 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. About 220,000 bottles are produced annually. Robert M. Parker Jr. has written that “the wine of Ducru-Beaucaillou is the essence of elegance, symmetry, balance, breed, class and distinction.”

REGION

France, Bordeaux, St.-Julien

Saint-Julien is the smallest of the four main Médoc appellations with 2,175 acres of vineyards. It is just south of Pauillac on the left bank of the Gironde, and although it has no First Growth châteaux, its 11 Classified Growth estates are widely admired. Robert M. Parker Jr. has written that winemaking in Saint-Julien from all classifications “is consistently both distinctive and brilliant.” He adds it is Médoc’s “most underrated commune.” The best-known estates are Léoville Las Cases, Ducru-Beaucaillou, Léoville Poyferré, Léoville Barton and Gruaud Larose, and most of those have riverside estates. The soil in this appellation is gravelly with clay. Cabernet Sauvignon is the main grape grown, and it is blended with Cabernet Franc, Merlot and sometimes small amounts of Petit Verdot.

VINTAGE

2017 La Croix de Beaucaillou

This is a second label of Château Ducru-Beaucaillou.