Ducru-Beaucaillou St-Julien 2019

100 points Jeb Dunnuck: "The wine of the vintage in Saint-Julien, if not all of the Médoc, the 2019 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou is based on 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot, aged in 100% new French oak, that hit a natural alcohol of 14.2% with a monster IPT (number of tannins) of 88. It's certainly one of the most concentrated Saint-Juliens, revealing a dense purple hue to go with a stacked bouquet of crème de cassis, freshly sharpened pencils, damp clay, tobacco, and hints of spring flowers. Concentrated, full-bodied, and powerful, it has incredible tannins, flawless balance, and a gorgeous finish. While most estates today are playing it safe and producing more ethereal, elegant wines that drink well right out of the gate, thankfully, this estate continues to make concentrated, powerful, age-worthy wines, and this heavenly beauty is as good as it gets! It will need a decade of bottle age to hit the early stages of maturity and will evolve for 50 years or more. Bravo to Bruno Borie! Drink: 2032-2072. (4/11/22)"

97-99 points Chris Kissack (Winedoctor): "The grand vin this year is a blend of just 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot, much less Cabernet Sauvignon than is usual, which Bruno Borie says reflects greater difficulties achieving perfect ripeness in the Cabernets than in the Merlots. The alcohol level is 14.2%. Aromatically this is a huge step up from La Croix de Beaucaillou, the aromas still perfumed with violets but with a darker intensity of fruit, damson, blackcurrant, moving into a more concentrated vein of currant, tar and black bean. The palate is seamless and elegant to start, so textured, and while it carries a tannic backbone like the other Borie cuvées it is simply not allowed to show through here, the velvet of the fruit covering all structural elements, allowing the acidity to shine a little in the middle, with a suggestion of the ripe tannic frame showing only at the end. Beautifully pure, with substance, structure and energy all in balance, maintaining a framed, concentrated yet sinewy, velvety and elegant form through to the finish. A great wine, with a long, athletic, tannic structure at the end. Very well done. (Jun 2020)"

98 points Jane Anson: "(80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot). This is brimming with personality, with inky depths to the colour and clear austerity on the opening beats. As it opens, the concententrated cassis and blueberry fruits switch from being stretched taut to a softer creamy texture. Full of precision and skillful blending of liquorice, cigar box and bitter dark chocolate with fresh acidities that hold right through the core of the wine. Signature St Julien elegance but with uncompromising swagger, one of the wines of the vintage. Blends are exactly as they were during En Primeur, with even the press wines added before the En Primeur tastings, and it is delivering on promise. 100% new oak (with the staves unusually seasoned for six years before being made into barrels), 3.8ph. 300th vintage of Ducru. Drink: 2029-2046. (10/26/21)"

98 points Neal Martin (Vinous): "The 2019 Ducru Beaucaillou, which was matured in 100% new oak for 12 months, has a glorious bouquet of cigar humidor, cedar, black fruit and a touch of black truffle, very complex and quite compelling. The palate is still very Pauillac-inspired in style, and finely proportioned, with chiseled tannins. Displaying superb clarity and salinity on the finish, this feels very persistent and utterly charming. It will repay a decade in bottle and then last several more. I believe this will outperform the 2018 in the long run. Drink: 2030-2070. (Dec 2021)"

98 points James Suckling: "This is so seductive on the nose, with perfumes of violets, blackcurrants, raspberries, and orange peel. Subtle. Ethereal. Full-bodied with such fine tannins and delicacy, with great length and beauty. Sophisticated and refined. Really amazing purity and depth. Great length, too. 80% cabernet sauvignon and 20% merlot. Leave this for at least five or six years. (3/3/22)"

98 points Falstaff (6/9/20).

97 points Antonio Galloni (Vinous): "The 2019 Ducru-Beaucaillou is a seriously impressive wine. Seamless and yet potent, the 2019 is so alluring. Even so, readers should not plan on opening a bottle anytime soon. A wine of tremendous gravitas and power, the 2019 possesses explosive energy to play off its seamless personality. I can't wait to watch the 2019 develop over the coming years and decades, as it possesses notable energy and a compelling interplay of opulence and elegance. Drink: 2029-2059. (Jan 2022)"

96+ points William Kelley (Wine Advocate): "Powerful and muscular, the 2019 Ducru-Beaucaillou offers up aromas of cassis, raspberries and cherries mingled with notions of violets and iris, framed by a generous application of creamy new oak. Full-bodied, velvety and concentrated, it's rich but lively, with a deep core of fruit and an ample endowment of ripe, powdery tannins. Fuller maturity and a more rigorous selection over the last two decades have brought what proprietor Bruno Borie characterizes as additional "punch" to this wine, in the form of unprecedented levels of anthocyanins and tannins, but all that substance and structure will require some patience before we'll see if Ducru is still Saint-Julien's most elegant wine. Drink: 2029-2065. (Apr 2022)"