DUCRU BEAUCAILLOU

A Médoc family property since 1720

Located in Saint-Julien, Ducru-Beaucaillou was established in 1720, with over 300 years of history in producing excellent quality wines. It has been one of the Grand Cru Classé in the area, and was classified as one of fifteen Deuxièmes Crus (Second Growths) in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855.

Ducru-Beaucaillou owes its name to the “beautiful pebbles” called Gunz gravel, quartz pebbles swept in by the ancient Garonne at the beginning of the early Quaternary Period, probably almost two million years ago. The soils, essentially made up of gravel, marl and pebbles, give the wines an extraordinary elegance and breed.

Ducru-Beaucaillou is one of the rare properties to opt for long ageing of 18 months, which confers refinement and guarantees better potential for ageing in the bottle.

Their experimentation with a battery of oak vinification vats and new-generation “smart” conical stainless-steel tanks of small capacity also made it possible to work with great accuracy.

At Ducru-Beaucaillou, every procedure in the vineyard is respectful of the entire ecosystem. It has earned the property ISO 14001 certification in 2016, supplemented since 2017 by HVE3 certification (high environmental value level 3).

To achieve excellent quality, only berries showing no defect are retained. The volume selected for its first wine has been severely reduced from 16,000 cases in 2002 to 8000 in recent vintages.