Varietal: Bordeaux Blend | Location: France - Bordeaux - St.-Julien
JADE JAGGER DESIGNS CROIX DE BEAUCAILLOU LABEL!
Calvert Woodley is proud to be one of a handful of retailers in the US selected by Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou to offer the newest brainchild of its innovative, art-loving owner, Bruno Borie.
Bruno commissioned noted designer Jade Jagger, daughter of Mick and Bianca, to create an elegant label for Croix de Beaucaillou, his superb "second wine." Bruno told Decanter magazine, "I really admired the work that Jade Jagger did … and we liked the idea of the daughter of a Rolling Stone working on Beaucaillou." Apropos when you realize that Beaucaillou means 'beautiful stones' in French.
The re-design of the Croix de Beaucaillou label will commence with the 2010 vintage but as a pre-cursor, Bruno and Jade have made available extremely limited supplies, in large format bottles, of the sensational 2009 vintage with the new label.
Quantities are limited!
Bruno has made it a personal project to raise the level of quality of Croix de Beaucaillou and he wanted to re-design the label to showcase the uniqueness of the wine. Not your typical "second wine," Croix de Beaucaillou is sourced from its own dedicated vineyards to give it a more consistent quality. It undergoes the same rigorous selection as the grand vin but comes from younger vines than Ducru which makes it more approachable at a younger age. Having now tasted the wine at the chateau two years in a row we can say without hesitation, "Mission accomplished!"
Varietal: Bordeaux Blend | Location: France - Bordeaux - St.-Julien
JADE JAGGER DESIGNS CROIX DE BEAUCAILLOU LABEL!
Calvert Woodley is proud to be one of a handful of retailers in the US selected by Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou to offer the newest brainchild of its innovative, art-loving owner, Bruno Borie.
Bruno commissioned noted designer Jade Jagger, daughter of Mick and Bianca, to create an elegant label for Croix de Beaucaillou, his superb "second wine." Bruno told Decanter magazine, "I really admired the work that Jade Jagger did … and we liked the idea of the daughter of a Rolling Stone working on Beaucaillou." Apropos when you realize that Beaucaillou means 'beautiful stones' in French.
The re-design of the Croix de Beaucaillou label will commence with the 2010 vintage but as a pre-cursor, Bruno and Jade have made available extremely limited supplies, in large format bottles, of the sensational 2009 vintage with the new label.
Quantities are limited!
Bruno has made it a personal project to raise the level of quality of Croix de Beaucaillou and he wanted to re-design the label to showcase the uniqueness of the wine. Not your typical "second wine," Croix de Beaucaillou is sourced from its own dedicated vineyards to give it a more consistent quality. It undergoes the same rigorous selection as the grand vin but comes from younger vines than Ducru which makes it more approachable at a younger age. Having now tasted the wine at the chateau two years in a row we can say without hesitation, "Mission accomplished!"
Varietal: Bordeaux Blend | Location: France - Bordeaux - St.-Julien
WS 93
WE 96
WA 93
Head and shoulders above its stablemate, Langoa Barton, proprietor Anthony Barton's 2009 Leoville Barton is another massive, excruciatingly rich, tannic, potentially long-aged wine. Meant for consumers with old fashioned tastes, it boasts a dense opaque purple color as well as a bouquet of licorice, forest floor, unsmoked cigar tobacco and a hint of earth. The wine reveals tremendous denseness and richness, a broad, savory mouthfeel and elevated tannins in the finish. However, there is a sweetness to the tannins and no trace of bitterness and astringency, always a sign of a top vintage as well as fully mature grapes. Still a monolithic baby, this 2009 should be forgotten for at least a decade, and consumed over the next 30-50 years. Read More
Varietal: Bordeaux Blend | Location: France - Bordeaux - St.-Julien
WS 93
WE 96
WA 93
Head and shoulders above its stablemate, Langoa Barton, proprietor Anthony Barton's 2009 Leoville Barton is another massive, excruciatingly rich, tannic, potentially long-aged wine. Meant for consumers with old fashioned tastes, it boasts a dense opaque purple color as well as a bouquet of licorice, forest floor, unsmoked cigar tobacco and a hint of earth. The wine reveals tremendous denseness and richness, a broad, savory mouthfeel and elevated tannins in the finish. However, there is a sweetness to the tannins and no trace of bitterness and astringency, always a sign of a top vintage as well as fully mature grapes. Still a monolithic baby, this 2009 should be forgotten for at least a decade, and consumed over the next 30-50 years. Read More
Varietal: Bordeaux Blend | Location: France - Bordeaux - St.-Julien
WA 98
The 2009 Leoville Las Cases may be the most open-knit and forward Las Cases I have tasted to date. Analytically, it is high in tannin and the alcohol is 13.8%, nearly a record at this estate. This blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc was showing brilliantly at the 2009 tasting I did in Hong Kong and at a later tasting. It boasts an inky/purple color, monumental concentration and lots of sweet, jammy black currant, black cherry and kirsch fruit intermixed with crushed rock and mineral notes. As always, proprietor Jean-Hubert Delon has built a massive wine with exceptional precision, unbelievable purity and aging potential of 40-50 years. I was surprised by the lusciousness of this cuvee on several occasions, and how much more forward it is given the fact that Las Cases can often be forebodingly backward and in need of 10-15 years of cellaring (at age 30, the 1982 is still a baby in terms of development!). The super-concentrated 2009 needs another 5-7 years before additional nuances emerge. This is a brilliant, full-throttle St.-Julien.
Varietal: Bordeaux Blend | Location: France - Bordeaux - St.-Julien
WA 98
The 2009 Leoville Las Cases may be the most open-knit and forward Las Cases I have tasted to date. Analytically, it is high in tannin and the alcohol is 13.8%, nearly a record at this estate. This blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc was showing brilliantly at the 2009 tasting I did in Hong Kong and at a later tasting. It boasts an inky/purple color, monumental concentration and lots of sweet, jammy black currant, black cherry and kirsch fruit intermixed with crushed rock and mineral notes. As always, proprietor Jean-Hubert Delon has built a massive wine with exceptional precision, unbelievable purity and aging potential of 40-50 years. I was surprised by the lusciousness of this cuvee on several occasions, and how much more forward it is given the fact that Las Cases can often be forebodingly backward and in need of 10-15 years of cellaring (at age 30, the 1982 is still a baby in terms of development!). The super-concentrated 2009 needs another 5-7 years before additional nuances emerge. This is a brilliant, full-throttle St.-Julien.
Varietal: Bordeaux Blend | Location: France - Bordeaux - St.-Julien
WS 96
WE 94
WA 100
One of the more flamboyant and sumptuous wines of the vintage, this inky/purple-colored St.-Julien reveals thrilling levels of opulence, richness and aromatic pleasures. A soaring bouquet of creme de cassis, charcoal, graphite and spring flowers is followed by a super-concentrated wine with silky tannins, stunning amounts of glycerin, a voluptuous, multilayered mouthfeel and nearly 14% natural alcohol. Displaying fabulous definition for such a big, plump, massive, concentrated effort, I suspect the tannin levels are high even though they are largely concealed by lavish amounts of fruit, glycerin and extract. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2040. Read More