CHÂTEAU DUCRU BEAUCAILLOU
2024 2ème Cru Classé Saint Julien
86 Cabernet Sauvignon, 14 Merlot: 100% new oak (medium-minus-toast) matured for 18 months: 13.34% alc: 3.80 pH: 87 IPT: Harvested from 23 September to 7 October Tracey Dobbin MW is the font of all Ducru knowledge, and our tastings are always some of the most open and interesting of the week. She reported that after a decent flowering, some coulure and millerandage were an annoyance, but it was irrelevant in the greater scheme of things. By the end of April, they had already carried out four treatments. Ducru employed 100 people for five weeks, carrying out a trie sanitaire, or as Tracey put it, these workers “fixed a bad haircut”. In effect, they continued to ‘clean’ without rest, keeping the vines healthy and fit. August was dry and hot, with a couple of spells reaching up to 38 °C, resulting in a 60% hydric deficit and low nitrogen levels. This led to accelerated ripening, which was gratefully received. The colder nights helped promote the development of great anthocyanins, and by the end of August, the Merlot was phenolically ripe. The Merlots came in swiftly with a touch of dilution, and there were touches of botrytis, which were banished through rigorous selection. Cabernet was less affected by botrytis due to the clean fruit and low nitrogen levels. The Cabernet harvest began on September 30th. Conical vats, gentle pump overs and blending at vatting all managed to combine to create as homogenous a wine as could be imagined. The result is a stunning, layered and superbly well-appointed Ducru. This is a bullet train of wine with profoundly deep fruit, spectacular balance, and tremendous momentum. With incredible freshness and hints of stunning exoticism embedded in the unique Ducru Cabernet fruit palette, this wine is a combination of thousands of anomalies, and yet they are in perfect concert. Rating: 19+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (May 2025)
In Bond
75cl bottles (wood case of 6)
* 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.
A gorgeously vivid, lifted nose, with floral aromatics, dark berry and cassis fruits, fleshy but understated, elegant and finessed, squid ink, sandalwood, incense, maintains estate signature and is full of pleasure, 100% new oak for ageing, 3.8 pH. Harvest 23 September to 7 October. Drinking range: 2032 - 2048 Rating: 95 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (May 2025)
Excellent depth with very good concentration. Lots of dusty, small-grained tannins. Densely packed, with nervy minerals, blackberries, dark chocolate, violets and cassis. Full-bodied and very fresh, with a lengthy finish. Structured and tightly framed. Shows good potential. 86% cabernet sauvignon and 14% merlot. Rating: 96-97 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2025)
The 2024 Ducru-Beaucaillou matured entirely in new oak, as usual. The 100% new wood slightly impedes on the aromatics at the moment, masking some of the attractive blackberry and cassis scents tucked underneath. The palate is medium-bodied and, again, the oak is very vocal at the moment. Quite marine-influenced on the finish, this Ducru-Beaucaillou has impressive sapidity, although the key question is how that wood will assimilate in bottle. Only time will tell. Drinking range: 2030 - 2055 Rating: 92-94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2025)
86 CS 14 M 13.3% Deep and rich aromas of crushed black frutti di bosco and crème de mûre. Barely any of the oak is apparent yet. Concentrated and inviting. Lush palate with very rich spicy tannins and lots of deep fruit. Although less outright exuberant than normal for Ducru, this is a great example of how the elegance of the vintage can be played out in the wine, without anything feeling mean. A great reward for the low yields, rigorous selection and hard work that went into it. Certainly one to watch. Rating: 94 Rod Smith MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2025)
The 2024 Ducru-Beaucaillou is a sleek, elegant wine. Silky tannins give the 2024 its distinctly mid-weight, lithe personality. Readers will find a gracious Ducru built more on persistence and nervy tension than size or opulence. Blue/black fruits, lavender, cloves, menthol and chocolate open over time. It will be fascinating to see how this ages. Drinking range: 2034 - 2054 Rating: 94-96 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2025)
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. Many properties specify a standard case format, and may make additional charges for six-bottle cases, for example. We offer wood cases of six bottles as standard where these are available without extra charge, but we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. If you want six-bottle cases where a 12 bottle case is offered, please check for the extra case charge. 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
- +£9.50 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 2027. 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.