Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 2017

The Wine Independent

VertdeVin

The nose is fresh, fruity, elegant, racy and offers gourmandize as well as a fine concentration. It reveals notes of ripe wild cassis and ripe wild strawberry associated with small notes of ripe raspberry, balckberry, small touches of mitn liquorice as well as a discreet touche of blueberry, Sichuan pepper, spices and discreet touches of dark chocolate. The palate is fresh, fruity, well-balanced, precise, elegant, racy and offers juiciness, a nice definition, a good guideline, a fine straightness, tension, gourmandize, a bit aerial as well as minerality. On the palate this wine expresses notes of juicy blackberry, juicy raspberry and more slightly cassis, wild strawberry associated with discreet touches of blue fruits, mint liquorice as well as a discreet hint of flowers, spices/sweet spices and a very discreet hint of vanilla. Tannins are fine and very slightly chewy. Good length. Beautiful chew on the finish. There is a very discreet hint of toasted nut and dark chocolate on the persistence. Fine power on the aftertaste.

Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider

Freshness and accessibility are the hallmarks of this wine. The customary level of density is improved with added grace, elegance, pliability and an upbeat, spicy core of attention seeking fruits. This is not to say that the wine is light. It is to explain that power has been refined with approachability, brighter fruits and exceedingly silky tannins. The wine was made from a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot and is aging in 100% new, French oak barrels. The wine reached 13.51% alcohol with a pH of 3.79. The harvest took place from September 18 to September 30.

Wine Enthusiast

While the dense and dark tannins are prominent, they can't mask the exuberant fruit that wants to burst out. Blackberry flavors are impressively ripe and rich, shot through with acidity that gives the wine salinity as well as freshness. At the back, those tannins will allow the wine to age over many years. Don't drink before 2024.

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

Deep purple-black in color, the 2017 Ducru-Beaucaillou slowly unfurls to reveal beautifully fragrant notes of warm kirsch, wild blueberries, fresh red and black currants and violets with wafts of underbrush and Earl Grey tea. Medium-bodied, the palate has great freshness and elegance, with very well-played, plush tannins and bags of perfumed fruit, finishing on a lingering spicy note. The wine was aged for 18 months in 100% new French oak barrels. The blend is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot.

Jeb Dunnuck

One of the wines of the vintage in the Medoc, the 2017 Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou comes from 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot from tiny yields of 35 hectoliters per hectare. Brought up in new barrels, it offers stunning notes of pure creme de cassis, unsmoked tobacco, lead pencil, and crushed rocks. Showing a touch of spring flowers with air, full-bodied richness and depth, awesome tannin quality, and a laser-like level of precision and purity, it’s going to need a decade of cellaring yet will have 40-50 years of prime drinking. Hats off to proprietor Bruno Borie for another magical wine.

James Suckling

Attractive, intense aromas of ripe blueberries, currants and more savory, tarry notes, as well as iodine, violets and cassis. The palate has a supple and succulent feel. This is cabernet in outright seductive mode, offering such fluid tannins and mouth-filling length. A blend of 90% cabernet sauvignon and 10% merlot. One of the stars of the vintage. Drink or hold.