2009 Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou, Saint-Julien, France, 750mL, [100 points]

The 2009 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou is a flawlessly balanced, Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant masterpiece, exuding both power and elegance. A soaring bouquet of blackcurrants, cedar, tobacco, graphite, and liquorice leads to a full-bodied, expansive palate with remarkable freshness, fine-grained tannins, and Ducru’s signature tension and structure. Showier and more seductive than the 2010 vintage, yet equally long-lived, this is pure perfection in a glass, capturing the essence of one of Médoc’s greatest terroirs.