Dry years favor the best vineyards, and the deep gravel soil of Saint-Julien is precisely that. The wines from this vintage possess a firm structure rather than a soft texture. They are dense and well-structured, and it will likely take at least 10 years for the tannins to mellow. Furthermore, this Left Bank wine is one of those that best represent this vintage. The sorting process was extremely rigorous, with grapes carefully selected using three sorting tables (one of which was set up right in the middle of the vineyard) and an optical sorter.
Robert Parker (98)
With loads of minerality, a terrific opaque purple color, and slightly more structure and tannin than either Poyferre or St.-Pierre (and that’s saying something), this is a blockbuster, fabulous Ducru Beaucaillou that should be at its best a good decade from now and last 40-50 years. The proprietor is not alone in thinking this is the finest Ducru Beaucaillou since the 1961. The classic wet rock, creme de cassis, subtle oak and gravelly stoniness of the vineyard come through in this spectacular, full-bodied, gorgeously pure and intense effort. This is wine for the ages that should be forgotten for at least a decade.
Proprietor Bruno Borie thinks this wine is as superb as their 2009. Slightly more structured and less flamboyant than its older sibling, it is a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot from the very best parcels of the vineyard. This wine tips the scales at 14% natural alcohol but has a normal pH of 3.6, which is one of the characteristics of this vintage (high alcohol, normal pH), which thus accounts for the freshness and precision found in most 2010s.
Winespectator (97)
Not shy at all, with a flamboyant, aromatic profile of roasted apple wood and warm ganache, featuring more than enough stuffing in the form of thickly layered blackberry paste, steeped fig and pastis-soaked plum flavors. The structure is massive but incredibly polished, and the fruit displays terrific purity through the graphite-supported finish. Large-scale and extremely well-rendered.
Rene Gabriel (19)
Rene Gabriel rates this wine 19/20 points.
BOW (9)
