Château Ducru-Beaucaillou

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou is one of the great crus of Saint-Julien in the Médoc, ranked as a Second Growth in the 1855 classification. A family-owned estate since 1720, when Jacques de Bergeron married Marie Dejean, heir to the vineyard, it owes its name to the old designation Beaucaillou, to which the surname of Bertrand Ducru—who purchased it in 1797 and improved its vineyards and cellars—was added.

In 1866 the estate passed to the family of the négociant Nathaniel Johnston, who in 1884 helped to develop Bordeaux mixture against downy mildew. Since 1942 Ducru-Beaucaillou has belonged to the Borie family: today the resident owner is Bruno-Eugène Borie, and for three generations the estate’s craftsmen have worked alongside the family.

The terroir is composed of Günzian gravels, quartz pebbles carried by an ancient Garonne around two million years ago: poor soils that drive the roots deep and retain the day’s heat into the night. The nearby Gironde estuary, over three kilometres wide here, moderates winter cold and summer heat.

Alongside the grand vin are produced La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou and Le Petit Ducru. Three centuries of history and an exceptional terroir make Château Ducru-Beaucaillou an icon of Saint-Julien.