Saint-Julien Second Growth with gravel stones, French oak ageing, and wines from Château Ducru-Beaucaillou to La Croix.
The producer
Château Ducru-Beaucaillou is a Second Growth château in Saint-Julien, Bordeaux's Médoc region. Large gravel stones give Beaucaillou its name. The range moves from the grand vin Château Ducru-Beaucaillou to second wine La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou and the Merlot led Madame de Beaucaillou. The grand vin receives long French oak ageing, while Madame uses a smaller share of new oak and has silky tannins. La Croix offers a more accessible, fruit driven style with clear aromas.
Known for
Saint-Julien gravel and oak reds
Notable facts
Bruno Borie has been the current proprietor since 2003.
Conversion to 100% organic farming began with the 2018 vintage.
Cellar TCA contamination affected the 1988, 1989 and 1990 vintages.
Average annual production is close to 10,000 cases.
The story
Bought in Wartime, Never Sold
In autumn 1941, Jean-Eugène Borie completed the purchase of Château Ducru-Beaucaillou. France was under German occupation and the Bordeaux wine trade had contracted sharply; established buyers had retreated and few were moving capital into classified estates. Borie was in his mid-thirties with no previous ownership of a classed growth. He paid a price shaped by wartime conditions, moved onto an estate that had been underperforming for years, hired new vineyard management and began tightening selection harvest by harvest. Within fifteen years, Ducru was being cited alongside Léoville Las Cases as one of the most dependable Second Growths on the left bank. The château he bought in 1941 has not changed hands since.
From the atlas
Château Ducru-Beaucaillou
A Saint-Julien château with large gravel stones, Borie family stewardship, and French oak raised reds.
At A Glance
Field
Detail
Appellation
Saint-Julien, Bordeaux's Médoc region
Classification
Second Growth in the 1855 Bordeaux classification
Current proprietor
Bruno Borie
Site
Large gravel stones
Grand vin
Château Ducru-Beaucaillou
The Producer
Large gravel stones give Château Ducru-Beaucaillou its name, with Beaucaillou translating as beautiful stones. The estate has operated continuously as a family property since 1720. Its 75 hectares sit within a production averaging around 10,000 cases annually.
The château's wines are made in a style built for extended ageing. French oak provides slow oxygen contact and oak spice while the tannins soften over time. The estate began converting to organic farming with the 2018 vintage.
Place
Saint-Julien is the estate's appellation in Bordeaux's Médoc region. Haut-Médoc is the wider regional designation around it, while Saint-Julien identifies the more specific address attached to Château Ducru-Beaucaillou.
The place name sits within Bordeaux's classified growth system, where the 1855 classification ranks estates rather than individual wines. Château Ducru-Beaucaillou holds Second Growth status in that system.
Wines
Château Ducru-Beaucaillou is the grand vin, the estate's principal wine. The 2020 vintage recalls 2010, with higher concentration of flavours and greater density of anthocyanins, the compounds behind red colour, and tannins. It ages for 18 to 20 months in 75 to 90 percent new French oak.
La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou is the second wine, made as a more accessible and fruit driven interpretation of the château's style. Madame de Beaucaillou adds a Merlot led bottle to the range. Its blend is 68 percent Merlot, 17 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 13 percent Petit Verdot and 2 percent Cabernet Franc. It spends 12 months in barrel, including 20 percent new oak, and has silky tannins with a subtle, seductive palate.
A Bottle To Understand It
Choose La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou 2019. Ripe cassis and black cherry sit inside finely grained tannins, while fresh acidity keeps the palate bright and defined. The wine can develop over 8 to 12 years, with tertiary notes emerging gradually.
Final Word
Château Ducru-Beaucaillou joins Saint-Julien, large gravel stones, family continuity, and red wines shaped by French oak ageing.