Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 2022

What a bouquet, intoxicating, vibrant, deep, pure nobility; dark fruit, mineral notes; a delicate, finely structured palate, sensational tannins wrapping the fruit, clear and pure, straight, full of finesse; a fresh, spicy finish. A truly great Ducru-Beaucaillou, perhaps the best ever.

Wonderfully evocative scents on the nose – perfumed and alluring dark berry fruit. Rich and juicy – fully concentrated fruit meets powdery tannins giving a fleshy aspect to the palate. Smooth and supple, slightly chewy fruit give a cushioning before crisp mineral aspects of wet stone, graphite and toasted liquorice come through. Fully flavoured with a long finish. A great wine that delivers the vintage in a stylish way.

A great, powerful and proportional Ducru with everything in the right place. The aromas and flavors are very precise and beautiful with blackberry, raspberry and citrus undertones. Full-bodied and structured, it has polished electric tannins that are finely layered, well formed and very long. Remains cool on the palate. 82% cabernet sauvignon and 18% merlot. Drink after 2029 but will age beautifully.

The 2022 Ducru-Beaucaillou is the most backward on the nose among the Saint-Julien flight: blackberry, cedar and a touch of fireside hearth. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannins, quite firm in the mouth but focused, and it segues into a more classical, restrained finish. This is absolute class. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting in London.

The striking black-purple color lets you know this is going to be good. The nose, with its array of black, blue, and red fruits, smoke, flowers, and Cuban cigars, definitely grabs your attention. But make no mistake, it is the multi-layered palate, with its opulence and density that somehow also manages to be equally diaphanous, that steals the show. The seamless finish effortlessly glides across your palate for more than 60 seconds! Give this beauty some time in the cellar before popping a cork. With tannins this soft, it is going to be effortless in its youth. Yet it will age for three or more decades with ease. The wine blends 81% Cabernet Sauvignon with 19% Merlot. Tasted twice, this competes with the 100 Pt. 2016. Drink from 2028–2065.

Deep dark ruby in colour with an inky, opaque core, purple reflections, and subtle brightening on the rim. On the nose, delicate nuances of fine oak, ripe black cherry, currants, sweet spices, candied orange zest and nougat. The full-bodied, elegant palate has good freshness, with pronounced integrated tannins, fine fruit expression and notes of dark wild berries and nougat on the lengthy, mineral finish. Certain potential for future ageing for many years.

A striking minerality on the nose, evoking the smoothness of river pebbles underfoot, polished by the current over millennia. Then comes a whole array of more exuberant aromas: from cocoa to spices, not forgetting a noble, deep fruit. On the palate, incredible freshness joins remarkable density for a sublime texture. The pinnacle of this phenomenon so typical of the 2022 vintage. The finish is superbly saline.

Majestic, the bouquet of Ducru-Beaucaillou opens only onto delightful prospects. It even calls for indulgence in a complex and imposing context, with nuances of sweet spices, licorice, and cocoa beans, complemented by wafts of red fruits, ripe black berries, cedar, and graphite. Everything is very coherent, nothing dominates—except the pleasure! The palate feel only confirms the aromatic promises. The wine is dense, deep, and supported by slightly suave tannins that confer power and energy. A very fine austerity reinforces the wine’s energetic side and thus forges the link between temperament, indulgence, and power. This is a truly great Ducru-Beaucaillou that joins the extraordinary 2016, 2019, and 2020… among others! It is elegant, charming, powerful, persistent, and, of course, refined and harmonious! What an endless finish and what energy; the performance is high and consistent, from bouquet through the finish. Now it’s time to wait. The wine has many decades ahead of it, but it will be interesting to taste it regularly… you’ll just need to have enough 🙂

The nose is fruity, elegant, racy, deep, precise and delicate. It reveals notes of creamy blackberry, blueberry and, more lightly, elegant roasted redcurrant, bright blueberry, combined with touches of creamy small fruits as well as discreet almost-balsamic hints and a hint of licorice. There is also a very discreet almost-herbal note, an infusion-like nuance and a subtle balsamic touch. The palate is finely crafted, supple, fresh, mineral, racy and offers a tangy framework, precision, juiciness, tension and energy. A beautifully velvety wine, fresh, with a dense, precise and fine texture. On the palate, this wine shows notes of juicy blackberry, pulpy/juicy cherry and, more lightly, violet, combined with touches of fresh racy gravel, iodine, elegant roasted red berries, chocolate, balsamic, fine hints of toasted almond, toasted hazelnut and a discreet hint of vanilla. The tannins are elegant and offer a certain chalkiness. Chewy and indulgent. Fresh, crisp and multi-layered. Good length. A very discreet almost-sappy note.

Good structure and concentration without being too much, this is an excellent Petit Ducru that is easy to recommend. Cocoa bean and damson, attractive fennel spice, a note I am finding a lot in 2022, reflection of the intensity and small berries, where bitterness replaces acidity in many cases for the balance of the wine.

96-98 Barrel sample. This is a velvet wine on the surface. But its density and concentration are balanced by the superb acidity and perfumed black fruits from the dominant Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine has a seriously long-term future.