96 pts - Wine Advocate
Deep purple-black in color, the 2017 Ducru-Beaucaillou slowly unfurls to reveal beautifully fragrant notes of warm kirsch, wild blueberries, fresh red and black currants and violets with wafts of underbrush and Earl Grey tea. Medium-bodied, the palate has great freshness and elegance, with very well-played, plush tannins and bags of perfumed fruit, finishing on a lingering spicy note. The wine was aged for 18 months in 100% new French oak barrels. The blend is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot.- Lisa Perrotti-Brown (03/2020)
93-95 pts - Vinous
The 2017 Ducru Beaucaillou was picked from 18 to 23 September for the Merlot, and from 25 to 30 September for the Cabernets. It is matured in 100% new oak over 18 months. It offers copious black fruit, violets, bay leaf and Asian spice notes on the nose that gathers momentum in the glass after a deceptively understated opening. The palate is medium-bodied with quite firm tannin, the oak nicely integrated, not quite as harmonious as the 2016 but then again, few 2017s are. There is a rigid structure to this Ducru Beaucaillou underneath the carapace of ripe black fruit with touches of tobacco and spice lingering on the aftertaste. It is probably going to require more cellar age than many of its peers but it will be worth the wait.- Neal Martin (05/2018)