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A lesser-known label from one of the top producers in Saint-Julien at a steal for this incredible vintage! Le Petit Caillou is made from decommissioned plots of the Ducru-Beaucaillou vineyard. It is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
Winemaking Team Notes: "Château Ducru-Beaucaillou boasts some of the most precious terroir in all of Saint-Julien and can challenge Léoville Las Cases and the Médoc First Growths in quality each year, according to Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The Borie family is best known as owners of Château Ducru-Beaucaillou. The family took over this historic estate in 1942. And since 1959 the family has improved the property so that today it is considered to be among the very best in Bordeaux. Since taking over in 2003, owner Bruno Borie has slashed the amount of fruit that goes into Ducru’s Grand Vin. That means grapes that once made the cut for the $200+ Grand Vin were freed up for their second wine, La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou, and for Le Petit Caillou.
Crafted by Bruno-Eugene Borie, Le Petit Caillou is a wine made from family vineyards in Saint-Julien. Where, thanks to their exceptional richness in stones (“cailloux”), Cabernet-Sauvignon and Merlot express their very best. Vinified by the teams of its elder Grand Cru Classe en 1855, Le Petit Caillou is a contemporary Saint-Julien wine, pleasurable to drink in its youthful prime or keep for a few years when its aromas turn to cedar and Havana cigar.
Growing Season: 2016 was one of the last vintages that Ducru-Beaucaillou made Le Petit Caillou, and the growing season was simply superb, with St.-Julien in particular turning out its best wines since 2010. The hot, dry summer was buoyed by abundant water reserves after a particularly wet winter, yielding concentrated wines with tantalizing acidity. The cool nights, and a bout of perfectly timed rain in September, gave vines time to recover from the intense summer’s heat, providing ideal conditions for the maturation of tannins. This long growing season heavily favored late-ripening Cabernet—particularly those vines planted in gravelly terrain like the soil found at Ducru-Beaucaillou."
Tasting Notes: Deep purple. Dominance of black berries (cherry) and red berries (raspberry) with a touch of violet scent. Ample and yummy with a delightful fruitiness. Long, beautiful and extremely smooth."
