La Croix de Beaucaillou

La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou 2019 was aged for twelve months in Bordeaux barrels, 60% in new oak and the balance in one-year barrels (twelve months). Oak of certified French origin, naturally dried outdoors for a guaranteed minimum of three years. Regular topping-up during the first six months, racking from the lower bunghole every two or three months with a total of four rackings. Sterile bottling under inert gas. First category 49 mm natural cork.

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 epicenter 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. The harvest was ideally warm, dry, and early. In fact, it was one of the only vintages in the history of the property where the harvest did not extend into October. No fewer than 150 harvesters worked over 3 weeks to collect the fruit for all four wines. Harvest started with the Merlots on September 11 and finished with the Cabernet Sauvignons on September30th; the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes where picked average of 125 days after flowering to ensure perfect phenolic maturity, Merlots at an average of 113 to keep freshness. Yields were small with 25-30hl/ha in Saint Julien and 20-25hl/ha in Haut Medoc.