Petit Ducru Saint-Julien 2019

2019 La Petit Ducru 92VM/90WA
Ducru-Beaucaillou
Saint Julien, Bordeaux

Grape varietal: 60% Merlot / 40% Cabernet Sauvignon
Production area: Saint-Julien estate vineyards across the D2 from the estate which previously supplied the Lalande-Borie fruit to that wine
Vineyard exposure: Sits on a gentle rise, at 45 meters (150 feet) above sea level only 25 kilometers from the Atlantic. When the wind blows from the west you can smell the ocean, adding a potential touch of iodine to the wine’s flavors
Soil type: light gravel and clay soils up top and a gravel and clay-limestone mix underneath

92 pts 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 château.

90 pts Robert Parker 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.

Of all the smaller Bordeaux wines from Bruno Borie, Petit Ducru is a selection of fruit derived from only St-Julien vineyards. A nod also to the history of the estate, specifically to one of the former owners, Bertrand Ducru (1770-1829), a brilliant and worldly merchant from the Bearn region of France, situated along the flanks of the western Pyrenees mountains. Powerful and well established, he bought the property in 1797 (16 Vendémiaire, year 6) and added his surname to that of the site, which then became “Ducru-Beaucaillou”. He hired the architect, Paul Abadie, graduate of the acclaimed Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Paris, to enhance the elegant Directory-period chartreuse. But above all, he invested heavily in the vineyards and the cellar. The wines quickly rose to the summit of the appellation and Ducru-Beaucaillou obtained unanimous recognition from the Place de Bordeaux, which later consecrated it with a place in the 1855 classification.