Master craftsmen of excellence since 1720, gathered around the Borie family for 3 generations, open to the world and to innovation, all united : meticulous winegrowers, expert oenologists and confirmed epicureans, we devote all our energy, all our passion and all our know-how to the service of our dream of excellence, to create emotive wines to better share them with you.
300 Years Of Inspiration
Bergeron Family 1720-1797
A seminal meeting in the Age of Enlightenment. It all started with a marriage. An illustrious servant of the king, squire Jacques de Bergeron took Marie Dejean, heiress of the vineyard, for his wife on 30 May 1720 in the church of Saint-Julien de Reignac.
Under the stewardship of this well-regarded member of the Bordeaux Parliament, the wines enjoyed wide distribution, especially in Scandinavian countries. Bordeaux municipal archives dating from the Revolution record that the authorities confiscated a sword and a pistol from some Swedes who were visiting the château.
Ducru Family 1797 - 1866
A native of Béarn, dynamic merchant and founder of his own trading house, Bertrand Ducru acquired the property in 1797. His love for the Médoc growth led him to make major investments in both the cellars and the vineyard. So much so that his successors decided to add his name to that of Beaucaillou. This tireless builder made a powerful contribution to the estate’s reputation by developing the land and transforming the typical Gironde house into an elegant Directoire chartreuse overlooking the estuary.
Baron Antoine-Auguste Ravez (1797-1857) married Marie-Louise Ducru, daughter of Bertrand Ducru and Marie Duluc. His father, Count Auguste Ravez (1770-1849), lawyer, Peer of France (1829-1830), MP for the Gironde (1816), Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Under-Secretary of State for Justice (1817-1818), replaced the traditional glass of water used by parliamentary orators with a glass of Ducru-Beaucaillou, to honour his daughter-in-law’s wine. Bertrand Ducru died in 1829. His two children then ran the estate. In 1860, Marie-Louise Ravez bought out her brother, Jean-Baptiste Gustave Ducru, and became the sole owner.
Under her stewardship, the property saw great improvements in quality within Saint-Julien and the growth was the most expensive in the appellation at this time. Consecration came with the 1855 classification : Château Ducru (Beaucaillou) was given a noble position on the second step of the Bordeaux podium.
Le Petit Ducru de Ducru Beaucaillou Saint-Julien
This newcomer is a selection derived from our St-Julien vineyards. An affectionate and informative name that already tells wine lovers something about its positioning and its ambitions.
Le Petit Ducru portends an introduction to the Borie signature, a courteous invitation to approach the qualities of its elders, Ducru-Beaucaillou and La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou; from its complexity to its structure, by way of its balance and its elegance. There is, of course, a family resemblance, a wonderful complicity between the three nectars. They know what they have in common: a rigorous technical process, drastic selection, demanding winemaking. A Cabernet-Merlot blend and depending on the vintage, sometimes with a hint of Petit Verdot, varietal that we know to be a skillful sculptor.
A nod also to the history of the estate, specifically to one of the former owners, Bertrand Ducru (1770-1829), a brilliant and worldly merchant from the Bearn region of France, situated along the flanks of the western Pyrenees mountains. Powerful and well established, he bought the property in 1797 (16 Vendémiaire, year 6) and added his surname to that of the site, which then became “Ducru-Beaucaillou”. He hired the architect, Paul Abadie, graduate of the acclaimed Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Paris, to enhance the elegant Directory-period chartreuse. But above all, he invested heavily in the vineyards and the cellar. The wines quickly rose to the summit of the appellation and Ducru-Beaucaillou obtained unanimous recognition from the Place de Bordeaux, which later consecrated it with a place in the 1855 classification.
Le Petit Ducru is a wine of balance and harmony. An elixir of youth. It is there, alive and well, a rendezvous with pleasure. Accessible from its earliest youth, uninhibited in its Chaplinesque antics. It will make for a happy dining companion in restaurants. It will make for a perfect marriage with poultry where it will bow down before its crispy, brown skin and envelop the steaming flesh with its tannins.
Le Petit Ducru tastes of Sundays. Above all, it tastes of friendship.
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