Rating

Wine Spectator 97 points (Mar 30 2006) Intense aromas of blackberry, currant and cherry. Full-bodied, with masses of big, velvety tannins and a finish that lasts for minutes. A blockbuster. A classic big, juicy claret. Best after 2012. 17,500 cases made. –JS Ranked #28 in Wine Spectator's 2006 Top 100 list.  Top 100 WS 100 points One of the most compelling Ducru Beaucaillou’s made in the last quarter century is the 2003 (which is also the first vintage to be packaged in an impressive heavy glass bottle with a special long cork). A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot, it is a powerful, tannic, blockbuster effort revealing a liqueur of mineral-like component intermixed with creme de cassis, raspberry, and flower characteristics, and an atypically high 13.5% alcohol. Having firmed up considerably since bottling, it exhibits tremendous definition, weight, and concentration. It is a wine for patient connoisseurs. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2025+. A brilliant tour de force!  Wine Advocate 96 points (Apr 2006) One of the most compelling Ducru Beaucaillou’s made in the last quarter century is the 2003 (which is also the first vintage to be packaged in an impressive heavy glass bottle with a special long cork). A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot, it is a powerful, tannic, blockbuster effort revealing a liqueur of mineral-like component intermixed with creme de cassis, raspberry, and flower characteristics, and an atypically high 13.5% alcohol. Having firmed up considerably since bottling, it exhibits tremendous definition, weight, and concentration. It is a wine for patient connoisseurs. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2025+. A brilliant tour de force!

Technical notes

The 75 hectares of the Ducru Beaucaillou vineyard stretch out along the eastern side of this vast communal terroir, hugging the river in the area where the quaternary gravels are the deepest. The stones have many advantages, enhancing soil drainage, reflecting the sun on the grapes in these closely planted vines, storing heat in the daytime and restoring it at night, affording a protective cover to the soil against desiccation during the hot summer months, and so on. The clay subsoil regulates the water supply of the vines, soaking up the surplus rain during wet periods and giving it back during droughts.