Bordeaux 2012 Primeurs: St Julien
Getting an appointment at Château Ducru-Beaucaillou to taste the 2012 barrel sample had proved to be a difficult task; repeated requests seemed to have gone unanswered. But I wasn’t going to let it lie; one of the reasons I went solo at this year’s primeurs was to be able to make my own timetable, and to ensure comprehensive coverage. I wasn’t about to let a few unanswered emails defeat me. So, in an unusually confident mood, I decided I would just turn up and see if I could blag my way in.
I turned off the D2 and edged my hire car gingerly towards the very imposing château in the distance. The track through the vines was roughly surfaced (although in better condition than many I have driven on), and the car bumped and rumbled its way slowly along. At each turning signs directed me towards the tasting, but they were far from reassuring in their tone; “Primeurs“, they stated, and underneath the words “Tasting by appointment only“. To be honest, this is of course the approach taken by all such châteaux; it is a fact of primeur life that you have to make appointments. But few state it on every sign on the approach up to the château. My hopes of arriving to a warm reception, despite being unannounced and unexpected, soon began to fade.
