Overview: This is the second wine of Château Ducru-Beaucaillou. La Croix de Beaucaillou is produced from the same vineyard as the first wine.

Harvest: The grapes are all harvested manually. They are sorted in the vines on mobile tables to avoid contact between unhealthy and healthy grapes during transport to the vat room.

Vinification: The vinification of each plot is done individually to optimize the choice of blends. Moreover, the fermentations are carried out separately and customized to take account of terroir, grape variety and vintage characteristics. Extraction is gentle and the must is kept at traditional temperatures with moderate lengths and frequent pumping-over. The press drains off continuously into barrels to facilitate the selection of the press-wine batches. Malolactic fermentation is managed in vats for optimal control. The wine is barrelled in individual batches immediately after malolactic fermentation. Blending takes place during the first racking operation; for La Croix de Beaucaillou, between 20-40% of new wood is used depending on the richness of the vintage. The barrels (225L Bordeaux barrels, French oak) are supplied by 5 carefully selected cooperages.

Aging: The wine is matured for 12 months. Bottling is performed with special care in regard to both oenological controls and homogenisation of the overall batch. The 5 cork makers supplying the estate have signed a detailed and stringent quality charter.