Ducru Beaucaillou - Saint-Julien 2020
In celebration of its tercentenary, Cha^teau Ducru-Beaucaillou has reinvented its historic label.
At once elegant and sophisticated, decisively modern and audaciously disruptive, the new design nonetheless maintains continuity with the estate’s history and centuries-old values, striking a magnificent balance between the classic and the contemporary in an expression of joy and liberty.
Capturing the brilliance, perspectives, and energy of the 2020 vintage, the design is the result of a holistic approach to the aesthetics of the bottle and the wine within. A true aficionado of contemporary art, Bruno-Euge`ne Borie explains his affinities:
“It was our conviction that the creation of this ephemeral label designed expressly for Cha^teau Ducru-Beaucaillou’s three hundredth vintage had to be seen as an event in and of itself. It was necessarily inspired by a kind of poetic rebirth of Ducru-Beaucaillou’s legendary label, which had remained unchanged since its creation by the Johnstons in 1870. This new design recalls major art movements and techniques of the twentieth century: abstract art, collage, destruc- tured forms, and new realism.”
The playful yet deliberate design is reminiscent of lacerated works of art, and the triple collage of the Victorian tower from the cha^teau’s southern fac¸ade incarnates the estate’s three centuries of existence and the three generations of the Borie family to helm Cha^teau Ducru-Beaucaillou. Like a series of triptychs or ripple effects, they lend resonance to the dazzling illuminations of those inspired beings who have from one era to the next sublimated this most exceptional wine as they sought out myriad expressions of the spirit and celebrations of the ineffable.
Pure and modern, the tricentenary logotype appears in enameled orange characters on the bottle’s shoulder, just above the label. The upper part of the neck is sealed with wax embossed with the estate’s seal in its signature orange hue, a color that evokes Orient, Asia and the Palladian art forms that the Johnstons held dear. It is a design in which the present and the past come together in the pursuit of excellence, a feast for the eyes that is a fitting prelude to the delights of the precious nectar within.
Tasting notes by their cellar master (March 2021)
Opaque colour with an explosion of rich black fruits, crushed gravel, exotic oak spices and a floral perfume. This wine possesses a tight structure with layered, silky tannins, great precision and breadth of flavours, underpinned by superb freshness. Very elegantly composed, with perfectly mastered power. Great finish, the flavours perfume the palate with endless persistence.
To add to the glorious 2018 & 2019, Ducru Beaucaillou marks its 300th anniversary with the richest wine in its history. The warm climatic conditions suit it well, allowing Ducru Beaucaillou to assert with great depth its aristocratic elegance.
The style of 2020 is reminiscent of the academic 2010 but with a higher concentration of flavours and greater density of anthocyanins and tannins, underlined with the Ducru’s trademark freshness, giving an exquisite, succulent texture.
Their commitment
Ducru Beaucaillou 2020 will age for 18 months in 100% new oak barrels.
Certified French oak, naturally matured outdoors.
Regular topping-up is carried out during the first six months of ageing. The wines are then racked by gravity every three months, with a total of seven rackings during ageing.
Traditional fining performed in barrel with egg whites. Bottling is carried out in a sterile atmosphere under inert oenological gas.
Only first-quality natural corks with a length of 54 mm are used.
Our bottles are laser etched, engraved with Ducru Beaucaillou, and have holograms incorporated into the labels.