2018 Madame de Beaucaillou

A blend of 39% Merlot, 37% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, the 2018 Madame De Beaucaillou is a ripe, nicely textured, impressive Haut-Médoc offering loads of Bordeaux charm in its blackcurrants, black cherries, tobacco, new leather, gravelly earth, and cedar-like aromas and flavors. With ripe tannins and medium to full body, this is a little hidden gem of a wine to drink over the coming decade.

A new wine in the range, made from the vineyards that Ducru-Beaucaillou owns in the Haut-Medoc, the 2019 Madame de Beaucaillou is a blend of 39% Merlot, 37% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot and 21% Cabernet Franc. The alcohol is 14.5%. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it rolls effortless out of the glass with notions of wild blueberries, baked black plums and boysenberries, plus suggestions of bay leaves, Chinese five spice, potpourri and tobacco leaf. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers plenty of black fruit and savory flavors with a chewy texture and tons of freshness, finishing with a lively herbal lift.