2018 La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou St-Julien

94 POINTS: Cabernet Sauvignon's savoury black fruit flavours dominate on the attack, along with a swirl of spice. Small berries meant great concentration, and the vintage saw a full 130 days between flowering and harvest (compared, for example , with 115 days in 2005). Rich in expression of fruit, with complexity and a lovely slate character along with charcoal, liquorice and campfire. This is a lovely glass of polished St-Julien. Harvest from 19 September to 10 October. 66% new oak.