Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou
Château Ducru-Beaucaillou is an estate situated on the Left Bank of the Bordeaux area, in the appellation Saint-Julien. The wine has been classified as a 2nd Growth (Deuxième Grand Cru Classé) in the “Official Bordeaux Classification of 1855”.
The land was already mentioned in documents from the 13th century and the name “Beau Cailloux” was derived from the “beautiful and large stones” found in the soil. Bertrand Ducru purchased the vineyards in 1795 and added his name to the estate. He then hired Paul Abadie, who was a well-known architect from Paris, to build the beautiful château on the estate.
In 1878 at Ducru-Beaucaillou, the mildew problem, which so many Bordeaux vineyards suffered from, was more or less solved by creating a blend of lime milk and copper sulfate, known as “Bordeaux Soup”. Wine makers all over the world thankfully used this “Bordeaux Soup” to cure their vineyards from the mildew disease.
In 1941, the estate was purchased by François Borie and his descendants still own the property and actually inhabit the château. The 75 Ha vineyard of Ducru-Beaucaillou is planted with 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot, which are on average 35+ years old. Until the mid-1990’s there was also some Petit Verdot but those vines were all removed in favor of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
The wine is aged in 75% - 90% new French oak barrels for between 18 and 20 months. Ducru-Beaucaillou has been described as the quintessential and archetypal St.-Julien, because of its dark colour, finesse and elegance. The average production is 10.000 cases.
Since 1995, they also produce a second wine named “La Croix de Beaucaillou”. Top vintages for Château Ducru-Beaucaillou are: 1961, 1970, 1982, 1996, 2000, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015 and 2016.
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