Le Petit Ducru Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend

Ready to go with a decant in 30 minutes, pretty and medium bodied with God fruit density. A really good Bordeaux drink now wine.

Last night we opened the 2018 Le Petit Ducru de Ducru-Beaucaillou. Saint-Julien from the Left Bank Bordeaux. This was previously known as Laland-Borie.

On the nose there is black cherry, blackberry, black plum, nlack currant, mocha, violets, black licorice and earth.

On the palate there is black cherry, blackberry, black currant, cedar, herbaceous notes, spice, black pepper, graphite and earth.

This wine is full bodied with medium + mouthwatering acidity and medium + crunchy mouthcoating tannins the move instantly into a long black fruit gravelly soil finish. I hope everyone is having a great weekend enjoying some fine wines. Please stay safe and healthy. Nostrovia! 🍷🍷🍷🍷

If you drink a lot of pleasant, simple wine (like I do), the first complex wine in a while can wake the sense like a Wim Hoff ice bath. Le Petit Ducru is also a due reminder that I should drink more Bordeaux.

Intense, rich, layered. Pours velvet ribbons of violet tinted motor oil. About 100 layers of aromatics - cassis, syrupy blackberries, leather, coffee, milk chocolate. Big juicy grippy tannin. Flavors of dark cherry plum, mocha, laden with minerals and juicy berries. Real symphony on hand.

Hints of Brett, tobacco, tomato leaf, bitter finish, med tannin and med finish.

Third take on this one. Meaty, black curranty nose with a note of smoke and oak. Good palate with width, matter on the sides, savoury notes all along, black currant, good tannins in the rear before a great tannic wall, that powers up a long, meaty, fruity finish that goes on for a long while, with a layer of dryness and light bitterness in the rear. It's quite concentrated and very well put together.

Second take of this one in the same vintage. A bit of barnyard funk at first, which is a bit out of place for a Saint Julien. There is tar, black currant, bacon fat too on the nose. The palate is well done, with a good width, some nice, soft mouthfeel, giving way to some drying, dusty tannins in the rear, some nice blackcurrant touches can be felt all along. The finish is savory, tangy, fruity and a tiny bit salty. It goes on for a good while. It's a tiny bit unbalanced toward acidity for the price I would say, but it's a good Saint Julien in itself. I will leave the remaining 3 bottles sleep for some more time now.

Third wine of 2nd growth #stjulien Bordeaux châteaux. Richer, almost New World style, black currant, bramble fruit, cigar box nose, decent balance on palate. Medium plus tannins that build over time.

Dark inky purple. Nose of high toned sweet blue fruit with pencil lead and a floral note (gorgeous nose). Initial sip with aggressive dry tannins which complicate palate, but the dark fruit is present in background. Needs some air, but can sense pedigree. I’d give this another 5-10 years

Expected more?!

Ducru's third wine. Well I have had worse Saint Julien... I bought 5 bottles in a special discount (foire aux vins) in a local French hypermarket (Auchan) for a bargain of a price (22 Euro a bottle when it's sold 30+ Eur in France currently). Nice, true to type saint Julien nose with black currant, meat juice, tar, coffee beans. Good acid drive, black currant all along, good width, some width, some very vivid tannins that leave a very true to type drying, coffee grind layer before a very long finish with black currant and a tiny meat juice note in the rear. Well, it's clearly not the aristocratic first wine (that I don't know, by the way, happy to accept any invitation to try 😅), not the second wine or the second label (I am an absolute fan of Clos du Marquis) but it's a great saint Julien on its own with good width and length. Thumbs up!