Ducru Beaucaillou - Saint-Julien 2022

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

98

byJane Ansonthe3/7/2025

Delivers as it did En Primeur, again giving the impression of a carefully constructed, confident and poised wine, that has St Julien typicity, but turned up with Ducru opulence. Muscular, concentrated, packed with graphite, flint, crayon and gunsmoke, alongside juicy and rich fruit, giving contrasting textures that add interest and complexity. A ton of ageing ahead of it. 3.8ph, 95IPT. 100% new oak. 30hl/h yield.

The Wine Cellar Insider

100

byJeff Levethe3/4/2025

Ducru-Beaucaillou, Château

Jeb DUNNUCK

98

byJeb Dunnuckthe2/28/2025

The Grand Vin 2022 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou checks in as 82% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18% Merlot that was raised all in new barrels. Its deep ruby/purple/plum hue is followed by an utterly heavenly Saint-Julien that has pure cassis and darker berry fruits, a core of violets, spring flowers, graphite, and spicy oak, full-bodied richness, and ultra-fine, polished tannins. It's as seamless, pure, and elegant as they come, while at the same time being intense, powerful, and concentrated. It reminds me of the 2010 and is going to warrant a decade of cellaring, and have a solid half-century of prime drinking. For the tech geeks out there, the 2022 hit 14% alcohol with a pH of 3.8 and an IPT of 95. It’s an absolute sensational Saint-Julien from this talented team.

Yvesbeck.wine

100

byYves Beckthe2/25/2025

82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot Majestueux, le bouquet de Ducru-Beaucaillou n'ouvre que des perspectives réjouissantes. Il appelle même la gourmandise dans un contexte complexe et imposant avec des nuances d'épices douces, de réglisse et de fèves de cacao complétées par des effluves de fruits rouges, de baies noires mûres, de cèdre et de graphite. Tout est très cohérent, rien n'est dominant, sauf les réjouissances ! Le toucher de bouche ne fait que confirmer les promesses olfactives. Le vin est dense, profond et soutenu par des tannins légèrement suaves conférant puissance et énergie. Une très fine austérité vient consolider le côté énergétique du vin et crée ainsi le lien entre tempérament, gourmandise et puissance. C'est un très grand Ducru-Beaucaillou qui rejoint les extraordinaires 2016, 2019 et 2020… entre autres ! Il est élégant, charmant, puissant, persistant et, bien évidemment, fin et harmonieux ! Quelle interminable finale et quelle énergie ; la performance est élevée et constante, du bouquet jusqu'en fin de bouche. Maintenant, il s'agit de patienter. Le vin a de nombreuses décennies devant lui, mais il sera intéressant de le goûter régulièrement… il faudra juste en avoir assez :) 2029-2057 100/100

Vinous

96

byNeal Martinthe2/12/2025

The 2022 Ducru-Beaucaillou was a "Leviathan" when I tasted it from barrel, to use my own vernacular. In bottle since the second week of July 2024, it has calmed down a little aromatically, with blackberry, bilberry, crushed stone and freshly rolled tobacco scents that emerge with time. Fine tannins frame the palate. This is far more linear than it showed out of barrel. It's stricter, with an almost Pauillac-like tannic structure (Ducru-Beaucaillou can sometimes bear this trait). Full of energy and quite persistent, with a grippy finish, this is a long-term prospect that is uncompromising in nature—I mean that in a good way.

Jamessuckling.com

98

byJames Sucklingthe2/3/2025

A great, powerful and proportional Ducru with everything in the right place. The aromas and flavors are very precise and beautiful with blackberry, raspberry and citrus undertones. Full-bodied and structured, it has polished electric tannins that are finely layered, well formed and very long. Remains cool on the palate. 82% cabernet sauvignon and 18% merlot. Drink after 2029 but will age beautifully.

Vinous

97

byAntonio Gallonithe1/28/2025

The 2022 Ducru-Beaucaillou is a wine of total sensual allure. All the elements are wonderfully woven together. Black cherry, plum, licorice, chocolate, spice and lavender infuse the palate with striking depth. The sustained, persistent finish is a thing of real beauty. Lifted floral accents extend the finish nicely.

Decanter.com

97

byGeorgina Hindlethe5/25/2023

A seamless, suave and slender Ducru in 2022 that marries terroir minerality with concentrated fruit and extremely well controlled tannins. Focussed and precise with clarity and detail offering both power and poise. It’s brooding still, heavily scented with ripe and intense fruit and tannins that fill the mouth with a chalky, intentional grip but underpinned by vibrant energy. Everything is in high definition; bramble fruit, plums, damsons, cherries, bitter orange zest, graphite, flint and salty stones. Compact but sophisticated with a dark savoury nature right now but with crunchy and cool aspects too. This will be beautiful in time. 3.8pH. 95 IPT.Ageing 18 months 100% new oak. 9% press wine.

Alexandre Ma

98-99

byAlexandre Mathe5/17/2023

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 2022 takes you to the heights of sublime balance. On one hand, the sweltering heat of 2022 gives rise to fervent flames; on the other, the inherent character of Château Ducru-Beaucaillou exudes a surge of passion. Remarkably, when these two powerful forces meet, they transform into a gentle, blue flame, so mild that you could even touch its incandescent core. The signature mulberry and black goji berry flavors dance amidst a backdrop of licorice, clove, and orange stem. As the opulent wine graces your taste buds, it immediately shifts into a refreshing, delicate caress. Who could resist such an enchantingly alluring wine, free from pretense or affectation? In my view, the vintage of 2022 is a timeless masterpiece that stands shoulder to shoulder with Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 2010.

Vinous

95-97

byNeal Martinthe5/17/2023

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.

The Vintage Journal

97-98

byAndrew Caillard MWthe5/17/2023

Deep crimson. Liquorice, dark cherry, blackcurrant, mocha, hint saline meaty aromas with vanilla notes. Richly concentrated dense dark chocolate, dark cherry liquorice flavours, fine bittersweet tannins, grainy cedar oak. Graphite firm finish. Very polished and precise wine with sweet and savoury notes. (Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot blend 100% new oak)

matthewjukes.com

20

byMatthew Jukesthe5/15/2023

The Wine Independent

97-99

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe5/15/2023

The 2022 Ducru-Beaucaillou is made from 82% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18% Merlot with a yield of 29 hl/ha, and represents 25% of the year's production. Deep garnet-purple in color, it soars out of the glass with graceful, energetic notes of crushed blackcurrants, redcurrant preserves, wild blueberries, and dark chocolate, followed by touches of violets, clove oil, cumin seed, and cast-iron pan. The medium to full-bodied palate is built like a skyscraper, delivering very firm, super-ripe, grainy tannins and seamless freshness to support the densely laden, vibrant black fruits, finishing very long with a spectacular display of mineral and floral fireworks. pH 3.80, TPI 95.

Yvesbeck.wine

98-100

byYves Beckthe5/10/2023

L'intensité du fruit annonce d'emblée de la fraîcheur et du plaisir ! Nuances florales, minérales et épicées complétées par des parfums de griottes et de sureau ! En bouche le vin assure avec sérénité… comme il l’a régulièrement fait au cours de nombreux millésimes. Il ne veut pas briller par son exubérance mais bien plus par sa subtilité, par son aptitude à s'imposer au travers de sa finesse, sa pertinence et son harmonie. Ainsi les tannins sont porteurs et fins tout en conférant une fine amertume qui ne fait que bonifier la persistance de la finale. Ducru a su une fois de plus se surpasser, une fois de plus tout remettre en question avec pour finalité de non seulement défier les conclusions hâtives liées à 2022 mais en plus de rappeler à quel point Ducru sait se profiler dans les nombreux contextes qu'il a traversés au fil des décennies. Un vin serein, éblouissant, fin, puissant, élégant et attachant

Bettane & Desseauve

97

by Bettane & Desseauvethe5/10/2023

Dense, racé à l’extrême, tannin encore un peu sur la rigueur de naissance et qui s’harmonisera avec le temps. Un grand seigneur.

Jeb DUNNUCK

97-99

byJeb Dunnuckthe5/10/2023

Moving to the Grand Vin, it's a slightly more Merlot-influenced blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18% Merlot, raised in new barrels. It brings the same level of concentration and structure as the La Croix but has another level of class, elegance, and purity, with sensational aromatics of crème de cassis, graphite, crushed stone, sandalwood, and graphite. The purity here is truly remarkable, and it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, perfectly integrated oak, silky tannins, and a great finish. This beauty hit 14% natural alcohol with a pH of 3.8 and an IPT of 95. Given its balance as well as its texture, it's going to offer pleasure with just short-term cellaring yet also evolve for decades.

Vinous

95-97

byAntonio Gallonithe5/9/2023

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 window : 2032-2052

The Wine Cellar Insider

98-100

byJeff Levethe5/5/2023

Inky dark in color, the wine exudes blackberries, smoke, currants, nutmeg, flowers, Cuban cigar wrapper, black cherries, smoke, and spice in the nose. On the palate, the wine is dense, and intense, yet light on its feet with seemingly, endless waves of deep, black and red, spicy fruits. There is symmetry, balance, and freshness on the palate. The tannins are present, silky, and refined. The wine is silky, supple, creamy, and seamless in the finish, which moves from black fruits, to red fruits and back to black fruits with spice, and accents of mint and a touch of citrus at the very end of the finish, which lingers for at least 60 seconds. Ducru Beaucaillou has been on an unstoppable roll since 2009. Produced from blending 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Merlot, 14% ABV, 3.8 pH. Picking took place September 7 -- October 4. Drink from 2028-2065.

Wine Advocate

94-96

byWilliam Kelleythe5/2/2023

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.

Jamessuckling.com

97-98

byJames Sucklingthe4/19/2023

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.