2019 - Ducru-Beaucaillou, Saint-Julien

A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot, the 2019 Ducru-Beaucaillou is deep garnet-purple in color. It has closed a little since last tasting a few months ago, requiring considerable shaking to bring out notes of blackcurrant pastilles, redcurrant jelly, and wild blueberries plus hints of lilacs, mocha, and black olives. The medium to full-bodied palate is packed with bright, vibrant, black fruit with a lively backbone and very fine-grained tannins, finishing long and fragrant. This is beautiful!

If you like your St Juliens with finesse and balance, head to the 2019 vintage of Ducru, with its gorgeous slate, pencil lead, cigar box, cassis, bilberry, and mint leaf focus. This has tension and restrained tannic architecture, and yet opens up mid palate to allow the fruit to show its creamy side. Such clever construction, and hard to resist. Harvest September 20 to October 10. 3.8ph, 100% new oak. Emmanuel Bonneau technical director, Eric Boissenot consultant.

Powerful and muscular, the 2019 Ducru-Beaucaillou offers up aromas of cassis, raspberries and cherries mingled with notions of violets and iris, framed by a generous application of creamy new oak. Full-bodied, velvety and concentrated, it's rich but lively, with a deep core of fruit and an ample endowment of ripe, powdery tannins. Fuller maturity and a more rigorous selection over the last two decades have brought what proprietor Bruno Borie characterizes as additional "punch" to this wine, in the form of unprecedented levels of anthocyanins and tannins, but all that substance and structure will require some patience before we'll see if Ducru is still Saint-Julien's most elegant wine.

The 2019 Ducru Beaucaillou has a pastille-like purity on the nose - black cherries, blueberry, quite floral and Margaux-like in style. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, showy and opulent, yet undeniably there is real backbone behind this Saint-Julien. Velvety smooth on the finish, this is the right way to produce decadent Left Bank Bordeaux. Fabulous. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.

'Mild winter/spring conditions prompted early budburst. Cooler temperatures in April and May delayed flowering, though a rise in temperatures in mid June resulted in a successful fruit set. Summer was hot, with temperatures higher than average from 23 June 23 through to October giving small, concentrated berries. Late July brought welcomed rains, rejuvenated the vines. August and September saw light rains and cooler night temperatures, which helped to retain acidity and prolong the ripening phase.' Harvest: 20 September – 10 October. 80% Cabernet, 20% Merlot. 18 months in new French oak.Black core. So much more fragrant than the 2018. More pure fruit and dark elegance. The tannins are not as velvety but they are superfine even if they are holding everything to ransom at the moment. Lovely freshness. (JH)