Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou - La Croix de Beaucaillou 2019

WEINWISSER: "Purpur mit rubinrotem Rand. Verführerisches Bouquet nach frischen Schattenmorellen, dahinter reife Alpenheidelbeeren und Sandelholz. Am festen Gaumen mit engmaschigem Tanningerüst und sehnigem Körper, fein mürber Extrakt. Im gebündelten Finale blaubeerige Konturen, Graphitnoten und Wacholder. Man spürt die Selektion beim Zweitwein, kann noch zulegen."

JEB DUNNUCK: "The second wine of this great château is the 2019 La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou, which is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot that was raised in 60% new barrels. It fits into the lineup beautifully and sits nicely between the Le Petit Ducru and the Grand Vin. Deep purple-hued, with full-bodied aromas and flavors of pure cassis, crushed stone, graphite, lead pencil, and smoked tobacco, it has building yet fine tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish. It shows the more regal, classy, elegant, yet still concentrated style of this vintage perfectly. Give bottles a healthy decant if drinking any time soon, and it will have upwards of two decades of prime drinking."

DECANTER: "Bramble fruit, hedgerow, some rose-perfumed florality - expressive on the nose with additional herbal notes and green bell pepper nuances. Excellent succulence on the palate with a juicy, wet stone minerality. Fruit is high toned, tannins are muscular and very present but also quite polished with spiced edges that tingle the tongue with a combination of spice and smoke. The elements are there but they're also a little closed right now. Power and length. Buy and hold on to. A second wine which used to include a lot of the fruit that went into the grand vin but now the majority of grapes comes from their own separate parcels in the centre of St-Julien."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Rich aromas of cassis, licorice, cigar wrapper, loamy soil and creamy new oak introduce Bruno Borie's 2019 La Croix de Beaucaillou, a full-bodied, deep and concentrated wine that's rich and lively, with a fleshy core of fruit and plenty of fine, chalky tannin. Like for example Clos du Marquis and Les Forts de Latour, La Croix de Beaucaillou isn't a second wine per se, but rather a cuvée produced from dedicated parcels."