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2020 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, Château Leoville-Las-Cases, Château Pichon-Longueville-Comtesse-de-Lalande, Cos d'Estournel

4-bottle Horizontal

Minimum Bid is $875
Ends Sunday, 7pm Pacific

ITEM 9535180 - Removed from a subterranean, temperature and humidity controlled residential cellar; Purchased direct from a distributor

Bidder Amount Total
$875
Item Sold Amount Date
I9359395 1 $1,145 Mar 17, 2024
2020 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, Château Leoville-Las-Cases, Château Pichon-Longueville-Comtesse-de-Lalande, Cos d'Estournel
Front Item Photo

2020 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou

RATINGS

100Jeb Dunnuck

Full-bodied, concentrated, and layered, it has incredible purity in its cassis and darker, almost blue fruits, some classic yet primary tobacco, graphite, and mineral notes, a dense mid-palate, and awesome length on the finish.

97James Suckling

Blackcurrants and blueberries with violets and crushed stone. Extremely aromatic. Full-bodied but very tight and reserved, with racy, almost steely tannins. Some subtle sweet fruit in the center palate. Great transparency and clarity. Super precision here. Vertical and polished.

96-98Vinous / IWC

...very succinct bouquet, not one that leaps from the glass and demands attention, but it unfolds slowly, at its own pace, revealing enticing scents of blackberry, cedar, iris petals and crushed stone. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit...quite enormous structure that exerts grip towards the finish.

95The Wine Advocate

...aromas of dark berries, pencil shavings, violets and pipe tobacco, all framed by creamy new oak...medium to full-bodied, fleshy and concentrated...

17Jancis Robinson

Dark fruited, smoother than the 2019 but less elegant. A bit closed on the palate. Chewy, dense, dry but in a lovely way.

PRODUCER

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou is a Second-Growth estate in the St.-Julien appellation. The estate’s history goes back centuries, and five families have owned and operated it over many generations. Today the 128-acre estate is owned by the Borie family, who purchased it in 1941. The family also owns Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste and Château Haut-Batailley. Ducru-Beaucaillou means “beautiful stones,” and the estate was named after the impressive, large stones in the region. Vineyards are planted to 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. About 220,000 bottles are produced annually. Robert M. Parker Jr. has written that “the wine of Ducru-Beaucaillou is the essence of elegance, symmetry, balance, breed, class and distinction.”

REGION

France, Bordeaux, St.-Julien

Saint-Julien is the smallest of the four main Médoc appellations with 2,175 acres of vineyards. It is just south of Pauillac on the left bank of the Gironde, and although it has no First Growth châteaux, its 11 Classified Growth estates are widely admired. Robert M. Parker Jr. has written that winemaking in Saint-Julien from all classifications “is consistently both distinctive and brilliant.” He adds it is Médoc’s “most underrated commune.” The best-known estates are Léoville Las Cases, Ducru-Beaucaillou, Léoville Poyferré, Léoville Barton and Gruaud Larose, and most of those have riverside estates. The soil in this appellation is gravelly with clay. Cabernet Sauvignon is the main grape grown, and it is blended with Cabernet Franc, Merlot and sometimes small amounts of Petit Verdot.
Front Item Photo

2020 Château Leoville-Las-Cases

RATINGS

98+ Vinous / IWC

Blackberry jam, gravel, spice, menthol, licorice, espresso and plum all saturate the palate.

98James Suckling

A linear and very racy wine with super fine tannins that run the length of the wine. Superb. It’s full-bodied yet really focused and polished with a length and intensity. Lots of currants and graphite. Very classy and fine.

98Jeb Dunnuck

...regal, medium to full-bodied, concentrated, flawlessly balanced 2020 with a pure core of cassis and darker currant fruits, a layered, seamless mouthfeel that carries substantial tannins, perfectly integrated oak, and subtle floral, mineral, and leafy herb nuances.

97+ The Wine Advocate

...aromas of cherries, cassis, loamy soil, violets and dark chocolate framed by a discreet touch of new oak. Full-bodied, broad and layered, it's rich and concentrated, with a deep core of fruit framed by sweet, powdery tannins and lively acids. Concluding with a long, resonant finish...

96Wine Spectator

Sleek and slightly austere in feel, with a cold cast iron note framing a core of tightly compressed cassis, plum and blackberry fruit flavors. Shows subtle flashes of tobacco and smoldering charcoal, as the finish lingers with verve.

17.5+ Jancis Robinson

Intense, subtle and reserved. Just a hint of spice and cedar. Dense and tightly woven on the palate, the texture smooth and refined. Tannins firm but finely etched, the manifest acidity reinforcing the structure and helping with length and persistence.

PRODUCER

Château Leoville-Las-Cases

Chateau Leoville-Las-Cases is a Second Growth Bordeaux located in St.-Julien-Beychevelle next door to Chateau Latour. Leoville-Las-Cases was part of a much larger estate that was broken up after the French revolution. It remains large by Bordeaux standards however, and today is comprised of 240 acres of vineyards. For decades the estate was expertly run by Michel Delon, whose wines were always considered some of the best of the Medoc. His son Jean-Hubert is now in charge, and the quality and reputation of the estate’s Bordeaux remain outstanding. Many collectors consider Leoville-Las-Cases in its best vintages to equal the First Growth wines of the region. The vineyards are planted in 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Annual production of the signature Bordeaux is 216,000 cases. The average age of the vines is 30 years. Clos du Marquis is the estate’s second line.

REGION

France, Bordeaux, St.-Julien

Saint-Julien is the smallest of the four main Médoc appellations with 2,175 acres of vineyards. It is just south of Pauillac on the left bank of the Gironde, and although it has no First Growth châteaux, its 11 Classified Growth estates are widely admired. Robert M. Parker Jr. has written that winemaking in Saint-Julien from all classifications “is consistently both distinctive and brilliant.” He adds it is Médoc’s “most underrated commune.” The best-known estates are Léoville Las Cases, Ducru-Beaucaillou, Léoville Poyferré, Léoville Barton and Gruaud Larose, and most of those have riverside estates. The soil in this appellation is gravelly with clay. Cabernet Sauvignon is the main grape grown, and it is blended with Cabernet Franc, Merlot and sometimes small amounts of Petit Verdot.
Front Item Photo

2020 Château Pichon-Longueville-Comtesse-de-Lalande

RATINGS

98Vinous / IWC

...very intense bouquet with layers of black fruit, hints of seaweed/brine, crushed stone, and perhaps less mint than it displayed from barrel...possesses stunning delineation, like a perfect C major chord echoing around an empty cathedral...palate is very well balanced, much more classic in style than its barrel showing, saline to its core, with hints of brine.

98James Suckling

Aromas of blueberries and blackcurrants with some stone and sandalwood undertones. Medium-bodied with a solid core of fruit and a fresh and delicious finish. Classy tannins that are fine and textured. Such sophistication.

98Jeb Dunnuck

...classic Pauillac character in its red, blue, and black fruits as well as graphite, cedar pencil, violet, and flower nuances. Seemingly from a cooler vintage with its purity, vibrancy, and focus, it nevertheless is concentrated and has ripe, gorgeous tannins, a great mid-palate, and a finish that keeps you coming back to the glass.

97Wine Spectator

A wow wine, packed with cassis, loganberry and mulberry flavors that hint at the vintage’s warmth, but this stays poised and fresh, with a sleek structure built on graphite and iron. There’s violet and lilac lift in the background and a groundswell of sweet tobacco, savory and singed cedar details that emerge through the finish, all with a fine-grained and rather luxurious feel.

97Wine Enthusiast

Tannins and fruits march in step with each other to give this wine style and elegance...structure is supple and the tannins smoothing...

95The Wine Advocate

...very demonstrative out of the gates, bursting from the glass without any coaxing to exhibit aromas of sweet cassis and blueberries mingled with notions of clove, violets and lilac. Medium to full-bodied, velvety and polished, with a seamless, charming profile that exhibits no hard edges, it concludes with a nicely defined, spice-inflected finish.

17Jancis Robinson

Black fruit and crushed stones. Dry tannins are nevertheless rounded in texture and clothed in the black fruit. Firm, dry. Stay away for a long time even though the tannins are fine-grained. Intense yet elegant.

PRODUCER

Château Pichon-Longueville-Comtesse-de-Lalande

Château Pichon-Longueville-Comtesse-de-Lalande has roots in the late 17th century, when Pierre de Mazure de Rauzan bought property near Pauillac, in Medoc. When his daughter married Jacques de Pichon Longueville, the estate of Pichon-Longueville-Comtesse-de-Lalande was established. The estate remained with the family until 1925, when it was purchased by the Miailhe family. In 2007 it was sold to the Rouzaud family, who are owners of the Louis Roederer Champagne house. Collectors prize Pichon-Longueville-Comtesse-de-Lalande as one of the Pauillac’s most consistently excellent wines. The wine traditionally has a high proportion of Merlot, usually about 35%, which gives it a characteristic velvety and supple aspect. The estate includes 183 acres planted to 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 8% Petit Verdot. The average age of the vines is 40 years, and 180,000 bottles of Château Pichon-Longueville-Comtesse-de-Lalande are produced annually.

REGION

France, Bordeaux, Pauillac

Pauillac is Bordeaux’s most famous appellation, thanks to the fact that it is home to three of the region’s fabled first-growth châteaux, Lafite-Rothschild, Mouton-Rothschild and Latour. Perched on the left bank of the Gironde River north of the city of Bordeaux, Pauillac is centered around the commune of Pauillac and includes about 3,000 acres of vineyards. The Bordeaux classification of 1855 named 18 classified growths, including the three above mentioned First Growths. Cabernet Sauvignon is the principal grape grown, followed by Merlot. The soil is mostly sandy gravel mixed with marl and iron. Robert M. Parker Jr. has written that “the textbook Pauillac would tend to have a rich, full-bodied texture, a distinctive bouquet of black currants, licorice and cedary scents, and excellent aging potential.”
Front Item Photo

2020 Cos d'Estournel

RATINGS

94The Wine Advocate

...aromas of cassis, dark berries and plum liqueur mingled with exotic spices, burning embers and petals, framed by a generous application of creamy new oak. Full-bodied, broad and low acid/high pH in style, it's rich and extracted, with a layered, mid-palate and a long, clove-inflected finish.

94Wine Spectator

A broad, rich, enticing wine, built on a core of exotic mulberry and loganberry notes laced with black tea, spices and incense. Rounded through the finish, with the fruit cruising through under a suave gloss of toast. A real crowd-pleaser, with a luxurious feel that makes this hard to lay off of now.

PRODUCER

Cos d'Estournel

Chateau Cos d’Estournel is a Second Growth Bordeaux according to the Bordeaux classification of 1855. Located in St.-Estephe, the chateau includes 160 acres of vineyards planted to 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot. The average age of the vines is 35 years. Founded in the 18th century by Louis Gaspard d’Estournel, the chateau’s wines were so admired in the 19th century that they were in demand all over the world. The chateau was bought and sold many times during the late 19th and 20th centuries, and in 2000 it was acquired by Michel Reybier, under whose direction the chateau has continued its climb to excellence. Robert M. Parker Jr. has noted that Cos d’Estournel “has been particularly successful in difficult vintages” and “remains impeccably managed.” Some 200,000 bottles of the signature Cos d’Estournel are produced each year.

REGION

France, Bordeaux, St.-Estephe

Saint-Estèphe is in the northern Médoc, on the left bank of the Gironde River. Although it has no First Growth estates, its five Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Growth châteaux are notable, and, in recent decades, have become favorites with reviewers and consumers. Some reviewers also note that the appellation is today making excellent Cru Bourgeois wines, which frequently offer good value. There are 3,404 acres of vineyards and a variety of soil types, from gravelly soil to soil with significant sand or clay. The two Second Growth Châteaux in St.-Estephe are Cos d’Estournel and Montrose. The Third Growth Calon-Ségur is widely admired. The principal grapes grown are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.