Château Ducru-Beaucaillou
Encyclopedia
Winery
A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...
in the Saint-Julien
Saint-Julien-Beychevelle
Saint-Julien-Beychevelle is a commune on the left bank of the Garonne estuary in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-Wine:...
appellation
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...
of the Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
region of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Château Ducru-Beaucaillou is also the name of the red wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
produced by this property. The wine produced here was classified as one of fifteen Deuxièmes Crus (Second Growths) in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855
Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855
The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 resulted from the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, when Emperor Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordeaux wines which were to be on display for visitors from around the world...
.
History
The estate Château Ducru-Beaucaillou was purchased by Francois Borie in 1941 and has remained in the family since along with the family's other estates Château Grand-Puy-LacosteChâteau Grand-Puy-Lacoste
Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste is a winery in the Pauillac appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste is also the name of the red wine produced by this property...
and Château Haut-Batailley
Château Haut-Batailley
Château Haut-Batailley is a winery in the Pauillac appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was part of the property that was classified as one of eighteen Cinquièmes Crus in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855.-History:Historically the estate was part of...
. In the mid-1980s the estate battled an infestation of TCA
2,4,6-Trichloroanisole
2,4,6-Trichloroanisole is a chemical compound that is a chlorinated derivative of anisole.Trichloroanisole is a fungal metabolite of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, which is used as a fungicide. It can be found in minute traces on packaging materials stored in the presence of fiberboard treated with...
in their cellars that marred several vintages including the 1988, 1989, and 1990. The Chateau has since corrected the problem, and today the wines are fermented and aged in a new underground cellar created in the late 1990s. Today the estate is managed by Bruno Borie.
Vineyard
Ducru-Beaucaillou's vineyardVineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
s consist of 50 hectares of well drained gravel with stones up to 2.5 inches in diameter. (Beaucaillou means beautiful stones.) The vineyards are planted in Cabernet Sauvignon (70%) and Merlot (30%), with previous planting of Cab Franc and Petit Verdot having been uprooted. The vines' average age in 2005 was 38 years.
Wine
Ducru-Beaucaillou produces two wines. The grand vin called Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, and a second wineSecond wine
Second wine is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from cuvee not selected for use in the Grand vin or first label...
produced since 1995 to which lesser-quality lots are relegated, La Croix de Beaucaillou. The wines are aged for 18 months in 50% to 80% new oak barrels according to the richness of the vintage, fined with egg whites, lightly filtered, and then bottled.