80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot

Vinous: 96-98, Wine Advocate: 94-96, James Suckling: 96-97

Vinous: The 2021 Ducru-Beaucaillou is a pretty significant departure from the past, as it is nearly pure Cabernet Sauvignon. A deep, aristocratic wine, the 2021 possesses remarkable intensity from start to finish. Inky dark fruit, bittersweet chocolate and leather are some of the myriad nuances that develop with some aeration. The 2021 is so well balanced. The 100% new oak, often quite dominant in Ducru en primeur, is so well integrated, likely because lower alcohol extracted less oak imprint. The 2021 is a drop dead gorgeous wine, and a Ducru for the ages. Superb.

Wine Advocate: A wine that will delight Médoc purists, the 2021 Ducru-Beaucaillou is a blend of fully 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Merlot and checks in at a mere 12.5% alcohol. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of dark berries, cigar wrapper, violets, loamy soil and spices, it's full-bodied, layered and velvety, with superb depth at the core, lively acids and powdery tannins. Complete and penetrating, it's a true classic, reminiscent of a modern-day version of Ducru's brilliant 1996—though today's precision winemaking means that the 2021 is unlikely to go through so long a hibernation as that vintage.