2010 Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou Saint Julien Bordeaux 750 ml

Château Ducru Beaucaillou's 2010 is simply wonderful. In his 98+point rhapsody, Robert Parker called it "the finest Ducru Beaucaillou since the 1961," "a blockbuster, fabulous Ducru Beaucaillou," a "wine for the ages." James Suckling tasted 100-point perfection in this "pure expression of Cab ... that everyone who loves Bordeaux should have a bottle or case of." We've been lucky enough to walk the perfectly manicured vineyards, our boots treading rocky soil strewn with pebbles almost three inches in diameter. Unless you book a tour to this historic estate, you'll just have to "settle" for sampling this bit of bottled perfection. You may imagine you're in the Saint-Julien château's cavernous cellars, but either way, you'll be transported. 

Lusseau started his career at Chateau Mouton Rothschild, but has been at Ducru Beaucaillou for over 30 years. Like Parker, our own Wine Access love affair with Ducru Beaucaillou goes back to their staggering 1961, which we had the pleasure to taste many moons ago at a private tasting of the greatest wines of that legendary vintage. While there were spittoons at every table that day, no one was spitting the 1961 Château Petrus, Latour à Pomerol, Latour, or Haut-Brion (curiously, the only disappointment of the day was the 1961 Lafite-Rothschild). 

The Saint-Julien entries included Léoville-Las Cases, Léoville-Barton, Gruaud-Larose, and Beychevelle. But the wine that stole our hearts was the 1961 Château Ducru Beaucaillou, a bottle that still fetches nearly $1,000 on the open market.

We continued to follow and purchase Ducru Beaucaillou vintages until the late 1980s, when the château seemed to fall into a slump, only to rebound in the late 1990s. Still, as time passed, we openly wondered—even doubted—whether the most heralded château in St. Julien would ever reach the heights of Robert Parker’s 96-point 1961.

That is, until we tasted the 2010 —a wine that not only equalled the 1961, but outpointed First Growth Lafite-Rothschild in what Parker suggested “may turn out to be the finest vintage I have tasted in 32 years of covering Bordeaux.”

James Suckling doled out a perfect 100-point rating for the 2010, writing, “It’s strong but noble with perfect form and beauty. All in harmony.” Parker chimed in, calling the 2010 a “wine for the ages.” A blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot, harvested from the best parcels in the estate’s 100-acre vineyard, the 2010 has the stuffing to last 40-50 years. It is, as Parker concluded, “a blockbuster, fabulous Ducru Beaucaillou.”