Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou "Le Petit Ducru de Ducru-Beaucaillou" Saint Julien 2019
(Bordeaux, France) - [JS 94] [VM 92] [WE 92] [JD 91] [DM 91] [WA 90]

About the Winery:
Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou owes its name to its "beautiful pebbles" ("beaux Cailloux", in French) that geologists refer to less romantically as Gunzian gravel. These quartz pebbles were deposited by the ancient Garonne at the beginning of the early Quaternary period, some two million years ago. It suffices to take a walk through the vineyards to make rich lithological finds. Lydian jasper from the Pyrenees, flint, quartz, agatoids... These Gunzian gravels make for soils that are poor in plant nutrients. But it is their very agrological paucity that guarantees the qualitative excellence of the wines. A choice of nature.

About the Wine:
This newcomer is a selection derived from our St-Julien vineyards. An affectionate and informative name that already tells wine lovers something about its positioning and its ambitions. 

Le Petit Ducru portends an introduction to the Borie signature, a courteous invitation to approach the qualities of its elders, Ducru-Beaucaillou and La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou; from its complexity to its structure, by way of its balance and its elegance. There is, of course, a family resemblance, a wonderful complicity between the three nectars. They know what they have in common: a rigorous technical process, drastic selection, demanding winemaking. A Cabernet-Merlot blend and depending on the vintage, sometimes with a hint of Petit Verdot, varietal that we know to be a skillful sculptor.

Le Petit Ducru is a wine of balance and harmony. An elixir of youth. It is there, alive and well, a rendezvous with pleasure. Accessible from its earliest youth, uninhibited in its Chaplinesque antics. It will make for a happy dining companion in restaurants. It will make for a perfect marriage with poultry where it will bow down before its crispy, brown skin and envelop the steaming flesh with its tannins. 

Ratings & Reviews

94 Points - James Suckling:
"Such a beautiful red with currants, blackberries and some walnut and stone undertones. It’s medium-bodied with a creamy texture and a long finish. Hints of dried citrus. Drinkable now, but better in a year or two." (March 2022)

92 Points - Vinous Media:
"The 2019 Le Petit Ducru de Ducru Beaucaillou is plush, creamy and open-knit, all of which give it considerable immediacy, not to mention tons of charm. Succulent dark cherry, plum, mocha and licorice lend nuance in this racy, Merlot-based blend. The Petit Ducru is a new wine meant to be the third selection from the chateau." - Antonio Galloni (Feb 2022)

92 Points - Wine Enthusiast:
"A complete, spicy wine, full of acidity balanced by the tannic structure. The wine is dense, with a firm core. This is the junior wine of Ducru-Beaucaillou. Drink from 2025." - Roger Voss (Oct 2022)

91 Points - Jeb Dunnuck:
"The 2019 Le Petit Ducru De Ducru-Beaucaillou is also Merlot-dominated and includes 36% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot. It offers classic Saint-Julien elegance and purity in its darker currant and cherry fruits as well as notes of tobacco, violets, and lead pencil. With medium-bodied richness on the palate, it has wonderful tannins, a balanced, layered mouthfeel, and outstanding length. It needs air to show at its best and is just a charming, elegant, layered 2019 to enjoy over any time over the coming decade." (Apr 2022)

91 Points - Decanter Magazine:
"As of 2019, the former Lalande-Borie is now Le Petit Ducru (it was a wine that was always one of my absolute value picks of the appellation, so I was a little sad to learn this). Le Petit Ducru is from young vines because so much of the former Lalande-Borie site is being replanted, but still shows both austerity and power, with crunchy bright fruit, and is extremely good quality. Gourmet edging with chocolate shavings and black pepper spice, the tannins are fine but they close in more strongly on the finish. Drink between 2025-2040" - Jane Anson (May 2020)

90 Points - Wine Advocate:
"Notes of blackberries, plums, pencil shavings and violets introduce the 2019 Le Petit Ducru, a medium to full-bodied, velvety and sensual wine that's lively and concentrated, its ample core of fruit largely concealing an abundance of ripe, powdery tannin. It's a Merlot-based blend that includes declassified lots of La Croix and Ducru-Beaucaillou itself." - William Kelley (Apr 2022)