The origin of Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou dated back to the 17th century, when they were part of a
larger property Beychevelle. In 1642, following the death of Beychevelle’s
proprietor Bernard de Valette, the property was sold off, leading to the
parcellation, with one part purchased by Jean-Baptiste Braneyre in 1680,
becoming Branaire-Ducru today. A second part very near to Gironde, becomes
the today Ducru-Beaucaillou.
By the latter of 18th century it
was under Bergeron, with the wines sold as Maucaillou, with the name referring
to the black pebbles on the ground. The name gradually changed to Beaucaillou, a
more positive and appealing term. In 1795 Bergeron died, and the chateau was
acquired by the new owner Bertrand Ducru, with the estate becoming
Ducru-Beaucaillou.
With the improvement in quality so did the
price, and upon Bertrand’s death in 1829, his two children inherited the
estate, and ran jointly for thirty years, with son Gustave renovated the
vineyards and constructing the chateau. In the 1855 classification the estate was
highly ranked, as a deuxiemes crus in St-Julien.
Boosted by the success, Gustave purchased
Branaire-Ducru in 1857, ceding control
of Ducru-Beaucaillou to his sister in 1860, but she then sold it later on to
Lucie-Caroline Dassier, wife of the wealthy merchant Nathanial Johnston. Difficult
times began with the phylloxera and then the mildew and in fact
Ducru-Beaucaillou played an important role in the discovery of the solution to
mildew, using the manager Esrnest David using copper sulphate and lime to fight
against the fungus.
The Bordeaux Mixture, as it was called,
then went on to be tested in the Dauzac vineyards. Following the
death of his wife, Nathanial remarried to the daughter of Prince Constantine of
Turkey, and the chateau was refurbished and two towers and new wings were
added, making the estate a notable landmark. Because of the bad
times, the Johnstons were forced to sell the estate, to a wine merchant called
Desbarats, but soon the estate was again on sale and it was the Borie family
that took up ownership in 1941.
After his death, his son Jean-Eugene
continued to steer the property, adding another 32 hectares of vines from the
neighboring Chateau Lagrange, but the fruit is harvested and bottled under a
different label, Lalande-Borie. In 1995 the second label was created, with
Wine Spectator awarding the grand vin the number one spot in the Top 100 list
in 1998.
In 1998 the control was passed to his son
Francois-Xavier, who ceded running the estate after five years to hand over it
to his brother Bruno who remains in charge today. The vineyards of
Ducru run almost down to the Gironde, totaling 215 hectares, with the typical
Gunzian gravel and the large pebbles that gave the estate its name.
Not all the vines are destined for the
grand vin or second label La Croix de Beaucaillou, so effectively there are
only 75 hectares of Ducru vineyards, nearly half around the chateau and most of the
rest further inland within the St-Julien appellation, near Gruaud-Larose and
Talbot. The vines are 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot, with average
vine age of 35 years, planting at a density of 10000 vines per hectare.
Harvest is manual, with the fruit passing a
sorting table before destemming, pressing and fermentation in stainless steel
vats under temperature control. There is frequent pumping
over and each individual vat is controlled separately on vinification. Once
finished the wine is left to macerate for a week, and then the wines are
assessed before undergoing malolactic fermentation in concrete vats. After
that it goes into oak, with the grand vin spending 18-20 months in 50-80% new
oak, then are fined with egg white before bottling.
I have
recently tasted the 2004 vintage and below is my tasting note:
Appearance
Bright
and clear, it has deep ruby color, with fading rims and legs.
Nose
Clean,
with medium (+) intensity aromas of black fruit such as cassis and blackberry,
maturity notes of savory and forest floor, mineral notes of earth and lead,
pungent spice of licorice, sweet spice of cinnamon, oak notes of cedar. The
wine is developing.
Palate
Dry with
medium acidity, the wine has medium (+) tannin which is smooth and silky, with
medium alcohol, medium (+) body and medium (+) intensity flavors of black fruit
such as cassis and blackberry, pungent spice of licorice, mineral notes of
earth, oak notes of cedar. The wine has a long finish.
Conclusion
Very
good quality high-priced Bordeaux left-bank, with a complex and intense nose
which is impressive, the wine has a good structure, in harmony and balance, as
demonstrated by the concentrated palate and its long finish. It is ready to
drink now though can benefit from further ageing of another 4-6 years.
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