2005 Ducru Beaucaillou
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Tasting Notes
The 2005 is in a beautiful place today and is an absolute stunner. It has a beguiling nose that brings a smile to the face – a bouquet of noble cassis mingles with more mature, cigar-box tones and peppery spice. The palate is dense, rich and concentrated but the balance is pitch perfect. Ripe berries, liquorice and a more mineral, graphite tone expand effortlessly across the palate. The tannins are silky, integrated and bring fantastic depth and freshness. It is “classic” Ducru – in terms of its opulent fruitiness and openness. The wine has found such harmony. This has years of drinking pleasure ahead but it’s in a lovely mid-life drinking window right now, still with plenty of primary fruit, perfectly melding with the first signs of tertiary development.
Critic Scores
Average Score
Wine Spectator
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
Aromas of blackberry, currant and toasty oak, with a hint of spice, lead to a full-bodied palate, with plenty of blackberry, chocolate and Indian spices. Balanced, refined and very pretty, with a velvety texture and a long, beautifully textured finish. Best after 2013. 10,000 cases made. -James Suckling, Wine Spectator 2008
The 2005 Ducru Beaucaillou is a 10,000-case blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon and 33% Merlot (they used to produce 18,000-20,000 cases). It is an exceptionally powerful wine with a dense purple color, superb intensity, and a beautiful, sweet nose of spring flowers, raspberries, blueberries, graphite, and creme de cassis. Full-bodied with fabulous concentration, exceptionally high tannin, good acidity, and massive layers of richness that build incrementally on the palate, this monumental effort is more structured than their outstanding 2003. It may be the finest wine produced at this estate since the 1982 and 1961 Ducrus. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2050. Apr 2008, www.robertparker.com
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About the producer
Second Growth estate Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou in Saint-Julien is one of the Super Seconds, an elite group of properties producing wines that regularly compete with the finest in the Médoc.