Classification:

Second-growth in 1855

Vineyards (red):

Surface area: 123.5 acres

Average age of vines: 38 years

Density of plantation: 10,000 vines per hectare

Brand name: Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou

Appellation: St.-Julien

Mean annual production: 210,000 bottles

Upbringing: Grapes are hand-picked. Fermentations last 17-21 days, depending upon the vintage, and occur half in stainless-steel and half in cement temperature-controlled tanks. Wines are transferred after malolactics to oak barrels, 45%-65% of which are new, for 18-20 months aging. They are fined with egg whites and lightly filtered prior to bottling.

Brand name: La Croix de Beaucaillou

Average annual production: variable, around 60,000 bottles in 1995 and 1996

Evaluation of present classification: Should be upgraded to a first-growth

Plateau of maturity: 10-30 years following the vintage

"Ducru-Beaucaillou, sitting among an outcropping of trees, with a splendid view of the Gironde River, enjoys a picture-postcard setting. The property belongs to Jean-Eugène Borie. In the last three decades, he has brought the quality of Ducru-Beaucaillou up to a level where vintages such as 1961, 1966, 1970, 1973, 1976, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1995, and 1996 can challenge any of the Médoc First-growths."

"The wine of Ducru-Beaucaillou is the essence of elegance, symmetry, balance, breed, class, and distinction. it is never one of the most robust, richest, or fruitiest wines of St.-Julien and by its nature is a stubbornly slow developer. Most of the finest vintages of Ducru-Beaucaillou usually take at least 10 years to reveal their stunning harmony of fruit and power.

Ducru-Beaucaillou is a great wine for a number of reasons. The meticulous attention to detail, the brutal selection process - whereby only the finest grapes and finest barrels of wine are permitted to go into the bottle - and the conservative viticultural practices all play major rules in the success of this wine."

"Ducru-Beaucaillou is one of Bordeaux's most expensive second-growths, reflecting the international demand for the wine and the consistently high quality."