The 2017 La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou Cuvée Colbert offers juicy baked blackberry, plum, and cassis flavors with subtle hints of violets and wild sage. Medium-bodied and smooth, it’s framed by fine tannins and a refreshing finish. A lovely Saint-Julien blend with great balance and aging potential through 2033.

The Wine Advocate | RP 91
Published: Mar 16, 2020
Drink: 2021-2033

Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2017 La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou Cuvée Colbert springs from the glass with baked blackberries, warm plums, redcurrant jelly and cassis notes plus hints of violets, wild sage and tilled soil. Medium-bodied, the palate is packed with juicy black and red fruits, framed by a grainy texture and delivering a long, refreshing finish. Total aging time was 18 months in French oak barrels, 60% of which were new. The final blend is 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot.

Chateau-ducru-beaucaillou.com

The wines of La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou come from the vineyard of Château Ducru-Beaucaillou. This exceptional Médoc terroir is situated between the Gironde River to the east, the centre and the west of the Saint-Julien appellation. The estate owes its name to its “beautiful pebbles” ("beaux cailloux", in French) which, because of their high quartz content, make for soils that are poor in plant nutrients. 

It is precisely this “agrological” paucity, as the late Bordeaux professor and geographer, René Pijassou, described it, that makes them so well-suited to the production of fine wine. In the east, the plots are planted along the rolling Médoc ridges, just above the estuary, while those at the epicentre benefit from a microclimate nurtured by the little La Mouline stream that meanders through the middle of the appellation from west to east before disappearing into the Gironde.