2014 Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou 1500ml

99 POINTS

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 POINTS

Jane Anson - 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 POINTS

Roger Voss - 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.

96 POINTS

Roger Voss - Wine Enthusiast

95–97. Barrel Sample. This wine showcases the balanced combination of power and elegance that's commonly associated with the property. It also has fresh acidity, complex tannins and a dense, dark structure full of black currant fruitiness. It is certain to age over the long term.

95 POINTS

Neal Martin - Vinous

The 2014 Ducru-Beaucaillou is one of my favourite vintages of this decade and here it outclasses the 2015. Superb delineation, this exudes gorgeous blackberry and earthy scents on the nose, soon overtaken by saline, almost briny aromas wafting from the Gironde estuary. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins, layers of black fruit, sweet with blood orange and Asian spices developing towards the finish. Blind, it might pick this as coming from a warmer summer. It’s a great Ducru-Beaucaillou with charm and personality. Tasted at the Ducru Beaucaillou vertical at the château.

95 POINTS

Neal Martin - Vinous

The 2014 Ducru Beaucaillou showed extremely well when I tasted it with Bruno Borie during en primeur. Now in bottle, it delivers on that promise with beautifully defined blackberry and raspberry fruit infused with cedar and pencil box aromas. Quintessentially Saint Julien. The palate is very well defined with fine tannin, pitch-perfect acidity, a palpable sense of energy and frisson from start to finish that delivers plenty of tobacco-infused fruit. It is not the perfection-flirting legend that I have read elsewhere; it is just a damn good Saint Julien that is going to drink beautifully over the next 25 to 30 years.

95 POINTS

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW - Robert Parker 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.

Jancis Robinson

Tasted blind. Not much on the nose. Light, minerally and treacly but without much density. Rather dry tannins on the end. The tannins seem to slightly outweigh the fruit. Lightly salty. Need to wait for this very classic wine – which will never be a blockbuster. Score: 17/20