Description: The 2009 Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou is clearly a wine of great power but it is its restraint that makes it particularly impressive in 2009. With layers of blackcurrant fruit and sweet spice, it is very supple, very smooth and very sexy – but elegant at the same time. With its long finish of great persistence, this is a very harmonious wine.
Robert Parker: Wine Advocate # 188. Apr 2010. Reviewer : Robert Parker. Can the 2009 Ducru Beaucaillou be better than the brilliant 2000 and extraordinary 2003 and 2005? Purchasers will have to decide for themselves, but this compelling effort is one of the all-time great Ducru Beaucaillous. It is a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot that achieved 13.5% natural alcohol, and, remarkably, despite the fact that 90% new oak was utilized, not a hint of wood can be found in either the aromatics or flavors. This inky/purple-hued, unctuously textured 2009 reveals layers and layers of blue, red, and black fruits, and hints of licorice and spice box. Despite its substantial, massive size, it retains an elegant style, but will need 3-5 years of cellaring. It should last for 40+ years. (Tasted once.) Drink: 2013 - 2053.
Jancis Robinson: Published : 07-Apr-2010. Very dark crimson. Crimson, purple rim. Dense and peppery and quite mineral. Much more serious on the nose than the Croix de Beaucaillou. Very polished. Lots of energy. Bone dry, spicy finish. Pretty drying tannins. Not really as soft as Bruno Borie maintains, I think. Cool and slightly tarry. Very very youthful. When to drink : 2019 to 2030.
Wine Spectator: Updated: April 15, 2010. This has an impressive powerful and hearty structure, with seductive floral, currant and licorice aromas and flavors, showing powerful tannins at the end. This sneaks up on you at the end. Structured and very, very powerful. The blockbuster tannins are sweet and fruit-coated. This is a classic, powerful style of Ducru. May be best yet. Wow. —J.S.
Stephen Tanzer: May/Jun 10. By Ian D'Agata. (An 85/15 blend of cabernet sauvignon and merlot; 13.5% alcohol; pH 3.69; IPT 90; 90% new oak) Inky purple. The nose starts off almost overripe, then turns fresh and bright with air, revealing floral ripe black plum, cassis and pepper aromas. Enters pure and velvety, initially seeming almost outsized in its concentration of opulent, spicy red and black fruit flavors. But for such a plush, powerful wine, this finishes with a classically dry impression, rich and long, with palate-dusting flavor and chewy tannins. A very big wine for Saint-Julien, this Ducru will certainly need at least a few years after release to develop a bit more finesse. It reminds me of the fine '71 made here, but with the added power of the '61.
Decanter: Steven Spurrier, Decanter.com, 5 Stars/ 18.5 pts - "Black red, very smoky, really concentrated nose, lots of extraction, massively structured, certainly a most impressive wine, one of the blockbusters of the vintage. Drink 2017-30."
Chris Kissack, thewinedoctor.com, 18.5-19.5+/20 pts - "Cabernet Sauvignon 85%, Merlot 15%, 90% new oak, alcohol 13.5%. Glorious colour, dark and glossy, very concentrated hue with a vibrant purple rim. The nose has similar concentration, dense fruit, all creamy cherry and smoky blackcurrant. A very pure start on the palate, more restrained than I expected, with a burgeoning wall of tannin coming through the middle. This is immensely structured, but those tannins although broad and powerful are ripe with a velvety finish. A ton of velvet, maybe, but the point still stands. Concentrated fruit, great substance. Long and impressive. A great wine which needs to be laid down for twenty years, and then maybe another ten after that. Monumental. For your grandchildren. From my 2009 Bordeaux primeur assessment."
Neal Martin, erobertparker.com, 93-95pts - "Tasted at the château. A blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot, aged in 90% new oak and 10% one-year old for 12 months, cropped at around 42hl/ha coming in with 13.49% alcohol, this has a very deep colour, very lucid. The nose is well defined, very pure, with blackberry, a touch of iodine, something reminiscent of the sea here, perhaps with a touch of seaweed? The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins, the new oak very well integrated, quite feminine and sensual, silky towards the long finish. This will need longer to allow the oak to melt into the fabric of the wine but it will be worth the wait. As Bruno Borie said: imagine Beyonce. Tasted March 2010."
Tim Atkin, www.timatkin.com, 96 pts - "The ludicrous, nightclub-style interior at Ducru led me to expect a wine that was trashy, flashy and meretricious, but I was mistaken. This is certainly oaky, but it has the structure, fruit quality and sumptuous tannins to cope with the barrels. Textured blackberry fruit, with very pure, piercing flavours. A wine of considerable breed. 20+ years."
Vinification: The grapes are all harvested manually. They are sorted in the vines on mobile tables to avoid contact between unhealthy and healthy grapes during transport to the vat room.The vinification of each plot is done individually to optimise the choice of blends. Moreover, the fermentations are carried out separately and customized to take account of terroir, grape variety and vintage characteristics. We generally operate gentle extraction and keep the must at traditional temperatures with moderate lengths and frequencies of pumping-over.The press drains off continuously into barrels to facilitate the selection of the press-wine batches. Malolactic fermentation is managed in vats for optimal control. The wine is barrelled in duly identified individual batches immediately after malolactic fermentation. Blending takes place during the first racking operation; for Ducru Beaucaillou, between 50 and 80% of new barrels are used according to the richness of the vintage. The barrels (225L Bordeaux barrels, French oak) are supplied by 5 carefully selected cooperages giving every guarantee. The wine is matured for 18 months in accordance with Medoc traditions for classified growths.
