Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 2me cru classé, St-Julien

Ducru-Beaucaillou is St-Julien at its most archetypal — and that is among the highest compliments available in Bordeaux. The Borie family's meticulous management of this riverside estate has produced, over decades, one of the Médoc's most consistent and elegant wines. In great vintages it achieves a complexity and refinement that sit comfortably in the First Growth tier. "Beaucaillou" — beautiful stones — refers to the gravel terroir that gives the wine its distinctive mineral backbone. The name fits.