La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou 2016, Grande Réserve Saint-Julien - Parker 92

Winemaker and Vineyard: The wines of La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou come from the vineyard of Château Ducru-Beaucaillou. This exceptional Médoc cru is spread between the river to the East and the centre and West of the AOC Saint-Julien area. The estate owes its name to its "beautiful pebbles", which, due to their quartz predominance, give lean soils. It is precisely this "agrological" poverty, as Professor René Pijassou wrote, that gives them great value for wine production. To the East, the plots occupy Médoc ridges just above the estuary, while those in the epicentre benefit from a microclimate engendered by the small stream of La Mouline, which crosses the appellation in the middle, from west to east, to flow into the Gironde.

Tasting: "Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 La Croix de Beaucaillou gives up aromas of cassis, earth, black plums, black cherries and mulberries with wafts of menthol, cigars and crushed rocks. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is lively and earthy with firm, grainy tannins, finishing long and mineral-laced." robertparker.com (30.11.2018)

Service: Serve at room temperature (16-19°C) to accompany a deer pâté in crust.