Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou 2014

Professional Ratings

• 99 James Suckling
  Fabulous aromas of crushed berries such as blackberries and blackcurrants, not to mention spices. Wet earth and cedar, too. Complex. Full-bodied, yet agile and complete. A dense center palate. Ultra-round tannins. Everything in the right balance. Wonderful to taste but better to drink in 2022.
• 97 Decanter
  We are now in the realm of truly young wines, and also in the realm of Ducru just totally hitting its stride and celebrating it potential. This is young and inky in colour, fresh with plenty of St Julien signature: real menthol freshness and cigar box seduction - great Cabernet flavours. This is barely getting going and is a wine that you want to know what happens next. Excellent stuff, spicy, powerful and juicy. 100% new oak.
• 96 Wine Enthusiast
  This powerful wine has a superb mix of the crispest fruit and great structure. Blackberries and black currants shine through the tannins, expressing the liveliness of the vintage. It is so well delineated with everything in its place. The wine is certainly going to age for decades. Drink from 2027.
  Cellar Selection
• 96 Jeb Dunnuck
  I just love the style of this estate and the 2014 Ducru-Beaucaillou is an undeniable success in the vintage. Made from 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot brought up in 100% new French oak, it offers a deep purple color as well as both elegance and power in its crème de cassis, raspberries, cedarwood, graphite, and floral bouquet, with its background oak smothered in fruit. Possessing a classic elegance, full-bodied richness, sweet tannin, and stunning length, it one of the wines of the vintage and will drink nicely for another two to three decades.
• 95 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  Very deep garnet in color, the 2014 Ducru-Beaucaillou springs from the glass, offering vibrant notions of fresh black currants, black cherries and black raspberries with touches of spice box, licorice and fragrant soil plus a waft of lavender. Medium-bodied, the palate bursts with lively, crunchy black fruits, supported by ripe, grainy tannins and finishing on a lingering spicy note.
• 95 Wine Spectator
  Opulent, with layers of warmed fig, boysenberry and blackberry confiture that loll along, yet are kept going by a terrific graphite note that is well-buried throughout. Alluring black tea, singed mesquite and bittersweet cocoa accents add to the panache. A head-turner. Best from 2020 through 2040.