One of the greatest wines that this domain has produced in Bruno Borie's era, the 2018 Ducru-Beaucaillou sneaks up on you with this fabulous, yet singular bouquet of spices, iris, violet, dark cherry and blackcurrant. The oak is perfectly integrated and intertwined with graphite notes with time. The palate is concentrated but brimming with energy, yet what really stands out is its confounding freshness as well as the finesse and precise contours of the tannic framework. An already profound wine that will reach new heights over the next two decades. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2050

Looking at the 2018 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, I was stopped in my tracks at this beauty and continue to think 2018 is an incredible vintage for Bordeaux. Checking in as 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot that was raised in new barrels, it has an essence of cassis character as well notes of tobacco leaf, dark chocolate, crushed stone, and cedar pencil. Cut from the same cloth as the 2009, although with slightly more polished tannins, it's full-bodied and massively concentrated and structured, yet flawlessly balanced, with incredible purity and no hard edges.

Vintage 2018 was generous to the style of Ducru-Beaucaillou. The rich character of wines from this estate is enhanced by the ripeness and concentration of this wine. At the same time it keeps an amazing freshness that comes out of the acidity. This wine will go down in the annals of this historic estate. It is not likely to approach drinkability before 2028. - Roger Voss

Aromas of blackberries, blackcurrants, new leather and bark follow through to a full body with a dense, deep palate that goes on and on, but is still shy and reserved. Large amount of ultra fine, cashmere-like tannins that are silky, sleek and wonderfully integrated. Extremely long and focused. Needs at least four to five years to start opening. A beautiful wine for the cellar. Try after 2027.

Inky, almost fully opaque in color, aromatically, the wine pops with its showy display of dark red and black fruits, flowers, licorice, smoke, espresso, dark chocolate, and cigar box. But, the showy aromatics pale in comparison to the incredibly rich, opulent, full-bodied, lush palate. The non-stop layers of velvet-drenched fruits stop you in your tracks! The wine blends 85% Cabernet Sauvignon with 15% Merlot. This is a clear candidate for 100 Pts as it develops. Drink from 2028-2065. Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/wine-tasting-note/?vintage=2018&wine=Chateau%20Ducru-Beaucaillou

(96-99 points) Another rock 'em sock 'em St.-Julien here, brimming with nearly exotic blackberry, plum, blueberry and açaí berry reduction notes, bristling with brambly energy and racing through a graphite-edged finish. Shows gorgeous perfume throughout, despite the fairly obvious level of concentration. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Drink now.- JM

The 2018 Ducru-Beaucaillou is composed of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot, aged 18 months in 100% new barriques. It has a pH of 3.7, 14.5% alcohol and an IPT (total polyphenol index) of 95. Deep purple-black colored, it has a powerful nose of baked black cherries, blackberry preserves and crème de cassis with nuances of menthol, pencil lead, cedar chest and Indian spices, plus fragrant wafts of violets and licorice emerging after a few minutes. Medium to full-bodied, the palate bursts with impactful black fruits and exotic spices layers, supported by firm, ripe grainy tannins and bags of freshness, finishing on a lingering fragrant earth note. There is a brightness to the wine—surprising freshness—and yet it remains very rich and hedonic, presenting an extraordinary vinous paradox that will blow away fans of this great estate. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown

The 2018 Ducru-Beaucaillou, 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot, is deep garnet-purple in color. It erupts with bombastic scents of creme de cassis, fruitcake, and black cherry preserves followed by touches of star anise, dark chocolate, cedar, and violets. The medium to full-bodied palate is rich, ripe, and impactful, delivering firm, ripe, grainy tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing long and spicy.

he 2018 Ducru-Beaucaillou, 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot, is deep garnet-purple in color. It erupts with bombastic scents of creme de cassis, fruitcake, and black cherry preserves followed by touches of star anise, dark chocolate, cedar, and violets. The medium to full-bodied palate is rich, ripe, and impactful, delivering firm, ripe, grainy tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing long and spicy. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown

This was a big vintage, with high temperatures giving tannins with shoulders and muscles, and shows the ability of Ducru to draw out balance even when the overall wine is so concentrated. An impressive achievement by the winemaking team, great quality, not bypassing the exuberance and creaminess of the year, but giving it form and definition. Expect plenty of blackberry liqueur alongside creamy damson and blackberry fruit, with liqourice and smoked earth. Harvest September 25 to October 10. 100% new oak. Emmanuel Bonneau technical director, Eric Boissenot consultant.

The 2018 Ducru-Beaucaillou, tasted just after my in-bottle tastings, is all mint and violet over the nose, precocious and generous, very pure and enticing. The palate is medium-bodied with a lot of new oak that will be subsumed with time. This is very pure, beautifully balanced, silky smooth with great precision on the finish. It is a superb 2018 that will need at least a decade in the cellar and with even more pixelation than the bottle earlier this year, it gets another precision point in my score. Tasted at the Ducru Beaucaillou vertical at the château. -- Neal Martin