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| | Since the 2013 harvest, Château Ducru-Beaucaillou has bottled a special cuvée of the second wine, La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou, that has been aged in a single 45-hectolitre ovoid foudre fashioned from the last of the ancient Morat oaks. Only about 6,000 bottles are produced each vintage. |
| | "... Cuvée Colbert is a 6,000 bottle production that I have never heard of until it magically appeared at one of my tastings in Bordeaux." Neal Martin, Vinous, 2019
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| | | | | "In France, these oak forests are protected natural resources and have been controlled by the government since 1669, under the direction of Louis XIV’s finance minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert, enlisted to ensure the country would have a steady supply of oak for ship building.
The first regular felling of trees began in 1832 in the Tronçais forest. Today the forests are run by the Office National des Forêts, and oaks are sold at auctions twice a year – where coopers (often through an intermediary known as a merrandier, or stave-maker) will buy the rights to log specific parcels of forest, with up to 18 months to fell trees after the auction. The oaks felled in these forests are most typically between 180 and 200 years old, with each yielding on average two [225L] barrels (enough for 600 bottles of wine) ..... Sometimes, a particularly old or historic oak will come up for auction."
Jane Anson, Decanter
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| | | “Bordeaux cooperage Tonnellerie Sylvain bought the magnificent 340-year-old oak at auction [for €37,700] – and orders are already flooding in for barrels from the aromatic wood. The oak, Le Chêne Vieux Morat, is the last of an exceptional parcel of Tronçais oak in central France, planted in 1669 during the reign of Louis XIV.
‘The majority were felled in 1984 but four remained and this is the last survivor,’ said Jean-Luc Sylvain, manager of the family-owned company. An estimated 60 barrels will be produced from the tree which measured 40m in height with a circumference of 4.6m. A tree roughly 200 years old provides staves for only 10 barrels. The slow growth and height of a tree contributes to the quality of the wood and richness of aroma.”
James Lawther MW, Decanter
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| | | "After 18 months of aging in this very unique vat, La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou Cuvée Colbert is born. It is in fact a limited edition of our grand réserve La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou. It comes from a dedicated area of the historical vineyard of Château Ducru-Beaucaillou situated on the south flank of a small stream called La Mouline that cuts the appellation Saint-Julien into two parts. This parcel is mostly planted to Cabernet Sauvignon."
Bruno Borie, Château Ducru-Beaucaillou |
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Hong Kong
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