CHÂTEAU DUCRU BEAUCAILLOU
2022 2ème Cru Classé Saint Julien
Deep damson colour, poised and intense, a serious wine with crushed mint, graphite and bitter black chocolate on the opening beats, setting the tone for a slow reveal of confident St Julien character. Powerful tannins convey purity and precision, set against creamy cassis and bilberry fruits, with softer smoked earth and baked spice, and a slate finish. The construction is careful and measured, extremely impressive, this is has decades ahead. 3.8ph, 95IPT. 100% new oak. 30hl/h yield. Drinking range: 2032 - 2050 Rating: 98 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (Apr 2023)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2022 Ducru-Beaucaillou contains less Cabernet than last year and is closer to the normal blend of the Grand Vin, picked between 7 September and 4 October - the longest harvest in their history. The IPT is 95. Matured in 100% new oak, the bouquet bides its time in the glass, almost reluctantly unfurling with scents of blackberry, briary, cigar humidor and sous-bois. At this nascent stage, it is more backward than its peers. The palate is undoubtedly one of the most dense and muscular that I have encountered over many years tasting at the estate, full-bodied with vice-like tannins. Continuing the theme of the estate's other cuvées, there is a lovely Pauillac-like presence throughout, with graphite/pencil lead infusing the black fruit. The finish exerts a considerable grip and feels saline, almost briny on the aftertaste. This Leviathan Ducru-Beaucaillou threatens to overwhelm the senses, uncompromising in many ways, and it will patently take many years for the tannins to soften. I feel that it is only once in bottle that one will be able to gauge its trajectory. Drinking range: 2040 - 2075 Rating: 95-97 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2023)
82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot. 100% new oak – matured for 18 months. 14% alc. 3.8 pH. 95 IPT Press wines was 8-10% Harvest was the longest ever – from 7 September – 4 October Despite the highly-documented difficulties in the summer, with heat spikes and drought concerns, rainfall appeared when the vineyards needed it most, and no fewer than 180 pickers were used at the height of the harvest, endeavouring to pick every berry at precisely the optimal time. In the end, there was no disease pressure whatsoever and the one-word description of the harvest at Ducru, according to Tracey Dobbin MW, was ‘serene’. The crew relied on input from the R&D team to be as precise as possible, and despite Merlot coming fairly fast and the Cabernet berries being tiny, they were thrilled with the quality of the fruit. Tracey described the skins as ‘powerful’ and ‘melt in the mouth’, and the seeds were akin to ‘toasted hazelnuts’! They decided to kick off fermentation, without a cold soak, at 10C and then let it slowly rise, extracting the flavours as gently as possible. The new vats at Ducru are half the size of the old ones, allowing even more precision and selection during this critical period of winemaking. The resulting wine is utterly mind-blowing, with some of the most dynamic and expressive fruit I have ever seen at this august estate. The impact of the fruit is astounding, and yet this is not a heavyweight wine. Tracey mentioned showjumpers while trying to sum up the character of this wine – powerful, dextrous, explosive and beautiful animals, and this is a good analogy. My analogy is more regimental with perfectly turned-out columns of flavour, impeccably presented and immaculately well-drilled. There are volleys of fruit here, mounting stealthy waves of attacks on your system until you are swarmed with the glossiest, sexiest and most intrusive Cabernet assaults. This is another stellar wine that tastes solely of its property and nowhere else on earth, and this is an indelible hallmark of the very finest wines in 2022. The tannins are as polished and fine-grained as I have experienced in this vintage, and the overall package embraces the unique characters of the 2022 vintage while overlaying them perfectly on the glorious Ducru template. Rating: 20+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (May 2023)
Great precision in the dates of harvest together with careful extraction from the raw material have enabled the production of an extremely well defined wine. The nose reveals delicious notes of fresh fruit, graphite and pepper, whilst the palate unrolls its suave, velvety texture and incredibly fine-grained tannins. This is at the very best level and the other wines in the range (Petit Ducru and La Croix) are also superbly made. Rating: 98-100 La Revue du Vin de France (May 2023)
The grand vin from Bruno Borie and team is a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, with 18% Merlot. The yields were about 30 hl/ha here. The aromatics display great purity, with sweet red cherry fruits, vanilla, strawberry and blackcurrant. This translates onto a palate of purely defined fruits, a touch darker than the nose, with sweet and plump red cherry laced with blackcurrant, dark chocolate and a touch of sage, underpinned by a ripe and finely knit core of tannins. This has a charming composition, with a rich tannic frame that feels appropriate for the terroir, although the blanket of fruit that lies over the top has a more ethereal, delicately stitched composition than I usually find here. It all culminates in a rich, simmering grip of tannins, and lingers a long time. A very finely composed Ducru-Beaucaillou which will need a long time to come around. The alcohol is 13.94%. Rating: 95-97 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (May 2023)
82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot. Cask sample. Deep colour – purple-black to the rim. Cassis and blueberry fragrance with a toasted oak edge. Smoky and minerally as well. Smooth texture with a generous quantity of tannin behind. Concentrated, polished and long. Has the potential but needs time. (JL) 14% Drinking range: 2034 - 2055 Rating: 17.5+ James Lawther MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (May 2023)
Some much creme de cassis and blackcurrant aromas and flavors here. Full-bodied with powerful tannins, yet fine and layered. Chewy. You can really feel the thick grape skins here. Excellent length. Tannins spread across the palate. Minerally and crushed stone. Rating: 97-98 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2023)
One of the Médoc's most powerful wines this year is the 2022 Ducru-Beaucaillou, a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18% Merlot that opens in the glass with aromas of dark cherries and berries mingled with pencils shavings, vanilla pod and spices. Full-bodied, broad-shouldered and muscular, with a core of ripe but lively fruit underpinned by a chassis of powdery, liberally extracted tannin that asserts itself on the finish, it's a punchy, modern Saint-Julien reminiscent of a hypothetical blend of the 2018 and 2020. Rating: 94-96 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Apr 2023)
The 2022 Ducru-Beaucaillou is elegant and nuanced. Bright red/purplish fruit, rose petal, blood orange, mint and spice give the 2022 unusual brilliance. In most recent vintages, Ducru has been on the opulent side. The 2022, on the other hand, is strict and linear in construction, a wine that is more about persistence than size. Bright saline underpinnings extend the mid-palate into the striking, beaming finish. Harvest took place over four weeks, the longest ever, as opposed to the two weeks or so that is the norm. Yields were 30hL per hectare, down from the 35-37 typical in recent years. Drinking range: 2032 - 2052 Rating: 95-97 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2023)
Château Ducru Beaucaillou
St Julien Deuxième cru 1855 When the Beychevelle estate was broken up in 1642, in order to pay off the debts of the deceased owner, it gave birth to three Châteaux - Beychevelle, Branaire-Ducru and Ducru-Beaucaillou. Château Ducru Beaucaillou was so named because of the quality lent to the wine by the large pebbles in the soil - the "good pebbles" being "beau caillou" (although it was originally "Maucaillou", "bad pebbles" not being much use for any other kind of agriculture). In 1795, the estate was purchased by Bertrand Ducru, and the name was complete. The early years on the 20th Century were not kind to Ducru-Beaucaillou, but salvation was on hand with its purchase by Francis Borie in 1941. Apart from some problems with TCA during the late 1980's, the tenure of the Borie family has been a time of continuing improvement at Ducru-Beaucaillou. Today, Francis' grandson Bruno Borie heads up the estate. The Borie family also own Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste and Château Haut Batailley. The 75ha of vineyard are planted to 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot have, apparently, left the blend. The Grand Vin spends 18 to 20 months in wood, with the proportion of new wood varying between vintages. A second wine was introduced in 1995 - La Croix de Beaucaillou. Also produced at Ducru-Beaucaillou is Château Lalande-Borie from vineyard purchased from Château Lagrange in 1970 which, although it could perfectly legally be absorbed into Château Ducru Beaucaillou, has always been produced as a seperate wine.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2024 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2026. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2026. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.