95pts Decanter

This has real depth of flavour, with an extremely good quality, juicy slate and mineral-filled finish. The emphasis, however, is upfront and all about the brambly blackberry and bilberry fruits, edged with liquorice, eucalyptus and hedgerow. It's hugely enjoyable to see such different personalities from vintage to vintage.

94pts Wine Enthusiast

Chocolate, coffee and sweet plum notes give this wine great richness. It has wood that needs time to integrate, although the main character is beautiful, velvet-textured, ripe fruit and plenty of sweet tannins.

94pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Deep garnet colored, the 2008 Ducru-Beaucaillou begins a little broody, giving up glimpses of tar, chargrill, moss covered tree bark and fungi scents over a core of baked plums, warm cassis and blackberry compote plus a touch of unsmoked cigars. Medium-bodied, the palate has firm, ripe, grainy tannins and bold freshness supporting the earth laced black fruit layers, finishing minerally.

94pts James Suckling

Wow. This is really impressive for the vintage, with a solid core of raspberry, currants and spices. Full and round, with velvety tannins and a long, long finish. Superb winemaking for the vintage.

92pts Wine Spectator

This is dark and brooding, with a tarry wall holding the black currant, melted licorice and espresso notes at bay for now. Extra roasted sage, cedar and briar push in on the finish, which showsan old-school hint. Rock-solid.

Winemaker Notes

The 2008 Ducru-Beaucaillou exhibits a beautiful robe of a profound violet color, firm to the rim. The nose is rich, with scents of creme de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) and redcurrant liqueur, and elegant nuances of roasted coffee. After a sweet and fleshy attack, the wine builds up in the mouth, revealing power and structure. It is akin to a Roman construction, all in roundness, but imposing. Particularly suave tannins buttress the persistent and powerful finish.
Blend: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot

About the Winery

Classified 2nd growth in 1855. Château Ducru-Beaucaillou is named after the beautiful, large stones found in its unique wine-growing terroir. The exceptional ecosystem produces fine, elegant, tasty wines, with a long finish - in short, archetypal Saint-Julien wines. Perched on an exceptional site with incomparable views over the Gironde estuary, in the centre of a hundred-year-old park, Ducru Beaucaillou is a majestic Victorian-style castle which has, over time, become one of the great symbols of the Medoc. Unusually for Bordeaux, it is built directly above the barrel cellars, enveloping its owners, who have lived here for over sixty years, in the sumptuous aromas of their wine. Today, the estate is managed by the company Jean Eugène Borie SA, which is owned by Mrs. Borie, her daughter Sabine Coiffe and her son Bruno-Eugène, CEO since 2003, the third generation of the Borie family to head the estate.