This displays clear traces of coffee bean, dark chocolate and a swirl of creamy mocha - I can see a parallel with the La Croix 2012. The texture is silky, with the pressure from the tannins suggesting just how well this will age. No need to wait too long to get going on this wine though, and it has a gourmet edge that's hard to resist. Drinking Window: 2020 - 2038
Tasted by: Jane Anson (at Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, 21 Sep 2019)
Part of Château Ducru-Beaucaillou vertical tasting: 1953-2018

Mesmerizing aromas of blackberries, licorice and mint. Wet stones too. Full-bodied and tight with super-refined and polished tannins that are pinpointed and elegant. It caresses your palate. Savory and salty on finish. Electric for the vintage. Better in 2018.

A big wine for the year, the 2012 Ducru-Beaucaillou possesses striking depth and intensity from start to finish. Sweet tobacco, cedar, smoke and savory herb overtones add intrigue to this deep, fleshy Saint-Julien. I imagine the 2012 will age for several decades based on its fruit density. Whether the tannins ever become noble is another question. Still, it is impossible not to admire the wine's pure depth. Jan 2016

Produced from a blend that includes the highest percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon recorded in the history of the estate at 91%. The remainder of the blend is Merlot. Reaching 13% ABV, the wine has a pH of 3.61. Smoke, licorice, boysenberry, coffee, and tobacco leaf notes produced a refined wine, which relies more on elegance than power. The wine offers good freshness in its medium-bodied, red and black fruit-filled finish. Bruno Borie, who has started comparing the style of his wines to various beautiful women, likened this wine to Fan BingBing, the famous Chinese actress. Her style was slinky and sensuous and, according to Borie, accurately describes the 2012 Ducru Beaucaillou. Tasted April 2013

I loved the 2012 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, a more up-front, supple, approachable, and seamless wine that has plenty of classic Ducru Beaucaillou purity and elegance, with its structure nicely integrated and balanced. Ripe currants, dried tobacco, smoked earth, and chocolaty nuances all give way to a medium to full-bodied, layered, forward Saint-Julien that can be enjoyed any time over the coming two decades, and I have no doubt, given the overall balance here, that it will have a gradual decline thereafter. Oct 2023

Made from 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot, the 2012 Ducru-Beaucaillou is deep garnet in color. It comes barreling out of the glass with bold notions of plum preserves, black cherry compote, and warm cassis, followed by hints of cardamom, pencil shavings, and bay leaves. The medium-bodied palate is wonderfully savory, with a lively line and firm yet approachable tannins supporting the muscular black fruits, finishing with impressive energy. It is drinking nicely now, but there is no rush to broach it. LPB Sept 2023 The Wine Independent

Quality 930 | Brand 993 | Economics 846 | investment staple
Quality: The highest Quality score in its peer group for the 2012 vintage, at 930 compared to a peer group average of 713 Brand: Strong restaurant presence, featuring on 44 of the world's top wine lists, including Le Calandre Economics: More traded at auction than its peers, its top 5 vintages having seen 3,041 75cl equivalent bottles traded in the past year Production:

- www.wine-lister.com June 2017