1988 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, 12-bottle Lot, Wood Case

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 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.”

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.