2010 Ducru-Beaucaillou, St-Julien

“In comparison to the more showy, sexy 2009, the 2010 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou cuts a very different profile, with a more focused, pure, regal style that will stop any wine lover in their tracks. Pure crème de cassis, graphite, fresh tobacco, and lead pencil (there's an almost Pauillac edge here) define the aromatics, and it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a deep, concentrated, incredibly layered mouthfeel, absolutely perfect tannins, and a great, great finish.” (10/2023)

“The nose is phenomenal with perfect aromas of Cabernet Sauvignon with currant bush, blackberries and minerals. A pure expression of Cab. The palate is perfect with a full body, but has perfectly integrated tannins with a texture like the finest cashmere. It's strong but noble with perfect form and beauty. All in harmony. A fabulous wine that everyone who loves Bordeaux should have a bottle or case of.” (02/2013)

“Compared to the 2009, the Ducru-Beaucaillou 2010 is less profound and powerful, but it has a more lively and fresher bouquet with cedar, dark berries, tar, cherry, and spicy aromas. On the palate, it is full-bodied, deep, and elegantly proportioned but also deliciously juicy, sapid, and long and has a perfectly integrated oak frame. However, it is a bit strict, so 10 or 15 years in the cellar will allow it to chill out. (YC)” (05/2021)

“There is tannin build up at this point in the vertical, but in the most enjoyable way - a clear indication of how much complexity there is in these wines and how densely knitted together they are, bedding down for the long term. This wine in particular has barely an end in sight, it just stretches out before you, confident in its fleshy texture and layers of expression. This is really at the top of what you hope from St Julien, confident and intense yet still with the balance and freshness of the appellation. It has great persistency and keeps hanging on, delivering flavor an inch at a time. Wonderful. (JA)” (09/2019)

“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. (RP) 98+” (02/2013)

“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. (JM)” (03/2013)

“The 2010 Ducru-Beaucaillou, picked 29 September to 14 October, was matured in 100% new oak for 18 months. This is more backward, sultry compared to the 2009, but there is a payload of black fruit laced with violet and cedar, a very faint ash scent emerging with time. The palate is full-bodied with powerful black fruit, a lovely granular texture and a killer line of acidity. There is a certainly headiness on the finish, atypically more so than the 2009, although it delivers extraordinary persistence. (NM) 96+” (07/2022)

“A grand wine, it has great ripeness and richness, majestic in its structure and upright character. It is concentrated, perfumed and opulent. The style of Ducru Beaucaillou is both generous and powerful, and obviously ageworthy. *Cellar Selection* (RV)” (03/2013)

“The 2010 Ducru-Beaucaillou is a riveting success for the vintage and one of the best three or four wines to be found on the Left Bank this year. The bouquet is deep, pure and stunning, as it soars from the glass in a mélange of sweet cassis, dark berries, tobacco, a superb, gravelly soil signature, coffee and a fair dollop of spicy new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and fabulously structured, with great intensity at the core, impeccable focus and balance, plenty of ripe, beautifully integrated tannins and outstanding length and grip on the palate-staining and dancing finish. Here is one of the extremely rare 2010s that actually is worthy of all the hyperbole bantered around about this vintage! 95+” (05/2012)

“Very deeply coloured with dark core. Gorgeous nose. Refined and still fresh dark cassis fruit. Very pure. Sumptuous fruit in a powerful framework. Deep, firm, chewy, intense and muscular. Long finish. Power and depth, all in harmony for a long future. You could open it now but it has even more to come. 17.5/20 points (JH)” (04/2023)