Power and purity with intensity, length, volume, style, and character, this is what great wine is all about. On the palate, the wine is mouth-filling, yet, light on its feet, almost weightless. The tannins are refined, The wine is silky, The fruits, which express their purity are expansive. As good as the nose is, on the palate, the wine builds in all 4 directions. as it crosses your taste receptors and coats your palate, teeth, and gums. The finish is seamless, resonating for over 60 seconds!. The wine blends 85% Cabernet Sauvignon with 15% Merlot. Drink from 2030-2065.
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Great wine, fully integrated (vs the 2019 that’s all over the place) with fruit and buttery oak, but not exuberant like the 09 or 19 or even 86, even after 3 hours decanting. Hoping it will open up with a few more years.
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Personal tasting event at Ducru-Beaucaillou with owner Bruno Borie. This vintage is even more elgant and complex than the 2017. Appears a bit more concentrated and fresh and fruity, otherwise the same notes. Very delicate tannins.
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This was hard to drink after the 86, 96 and 2006. It was so big it was distracting. But, this is an incredibly well made wine. Already the fruit and oakstructure are in harmony. Althogh maybe the least enjoyable wine of the evening, it is the best made wine of them all and will be off the charts in 30 years. To bad I will probably be dead by then, but my kids should have a hell of a note...
Bordeaux tasting - with a few pirates: This was wound a bit tight tonight in my opinion, never fully expanding or offering up the goods. The 2018 Ducru served next to it was by far more expressive and giving, especially on the front end of immediate flavor and intensity. This 2016 was primary and linear most of the tasting, peekabooing here and there, but mostly hiding behind a firm shoulder-shrugging of tannins and bitter berry fruit. A wine to hold for a while if possible. In wine sage terms, this appeared shut down to me. I don’t know if a decanting defibrillator might have woken it up or not. This would have been a wine to sample again on a second (third?) day.
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Flavors of similar dark red fruits from the nose, lifted spice and savory oak.
The younger sibling won the fight this night. Starting to wonder is it going into that stupid "shut down" phase. I say that because I loved this when it was younger, showing much more vibrancy and energy before. This wasn't too exciting, unfortunately. It probably it closing down. Probably the only annoying thing about Bordeaux wine is that damn phase. Can you imagine if people did that? Come out to play and have the time of your life then go hibernate for 10 years.. how annoying would that be? Anyways, see this guy in another 6-8 years.
Bordeaux and Beyond (The csimm_M Estate): Brought by the ever generous A_M and T along with their 3 stone cold winners to BDX night. As mentioned in my note for the far more open business ‘18 of this bottling, other iterations of this have fallen on the wrong side of my just too subtle/where’s the fruit side of my BDX tasting experiences, and this was on the far side of even those. There’s a hint of fruit, mostly tart red berries, but it’s buried (no pun intended) under a mound of earthy minerality, dried flowers and other similar notes giving this a monochromatic feel, kinda like one of my Cain 5s put through a funnel which strained out most of the taste. I tasted this at least twice, over the course of several hours, with similar notes. Totally inconsistent with notes of others here (but not from our group) and critical reviews, which brings up the question of whether this has gone into a dumb phase, was an off bottle or whether all of our collective palates have just been blown out by so much Napa grape juice that we just can’t appreciate anything not dialed up to DEFCON 4. Anyway, I’m withholding a score, and suggesting if you have a bottle, you put it somewhere next to that ‘18 Montrose and break it out for toasting when you buy your first flying car. And if you don’t have a bottle and have the $ for the WS price, buy that ‘16 Pontet and use the remainder for Chipotle takeout for a week. Score withheld.
Brief impressions only, no notes taken. Very promising wine with a superb structure, beautiful, not too ripe 2016 fruit mostly in the black and blue spectrum, a broad array of earthy aromas. We didn‘t catch the wine at the best moment (not decanted) as it remained a wild and unbalanced over the course of an hour+ we followed it. But same is true for many other 2016s at this point. Better wait. The potential seems great but the experience today was in the 92/93 pts range only.
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Powerful, intense, rich, long, full-bodied, and concentrated, the wine is almost off the charts. From start to finish, this is a wow wine! As good as the nose is, on the palate, the wine explodes. The fruit is expansive, building and moving as it coats your palate. The seamless finish hits every nook and cranny in your mouth with layer after layer of lush, opulent, complex fruits. Drink from 2030-2065.
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TWS Virtual Ducru Beaucaillou Tasting with Bruno Borie: TWS Virtual Tasting (13.5% ABV, 85% CS, 15% M). Opaque ruby, very narrow pale rim. Slightly reticent at first coming round to show pure dark fruit, quite rich, with a touch of smoke and gravel, cedar spice. Complex. Medium/full bodied, generous, dark fruit, cedar, touch of smoke, pencil lead, very fine tannins, fresh acidity, very long. Excellent/outstanding, will probably drink quite early but should age well too.
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A wine of singular elegance and beauty, recalling nothing so much as the sublime 1961 for its combination of sumptuous yet precise blue, black, and red fruit, earthen mineral and pencil notes balanced by wildflower. Rich yet athletic and fresh as the day is long. 97-100
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Nose: [58°] Softly bright, fresh red fruits like cherries with stems and cranberries over a clean, dry forest floor, some damp moss and lightly spiced soft oak. [64°] After hours of air time, the red fruits recede while black currants emerge with damp forest floor, dark green and brown brush, tree branches and a dark violet floral note.
Palate: [58°-64°+] Fresh black plums with bright yellow flesh, black mulch, river minerals, dark graphite, savory and bitter tannin like tree bark and steeped tea. There's also a bit of underbrush and softly spiced oak.
Attributes: Clear dark medium ruby. Dry with medium to medium-plus amounts of fine grained tannin. Medium body with medium-plus acidity. Good finish of at least 16-18 seconds.
Thoughts: I think I got away with murder the first time I had this; a completely different experience compared to the first time I had this bottle. A darker and more earthbound profile compared to the fresh, vibrant profile I remembered about two years ago. The good news is that the wine kept getting better and better in the glass, hour after hour. Great integrated acidity and minerals here. Very enjoyable but will need a long decant. This took about 7-8 hours to really show its good stuff. 96 for now and should gain back another point or two with another 5-6 years minimum of cellaring.
Serving notes: Bordeaux glass. Emptied bottle into a decanter at cellar temp ~55° for 7.5 hours before serving, continued to decant while consumed over another 4 hours (total 11.5 hrs). Recommend serving ~64° with a decant of at least 7-8 hours at cellar temp if opening now.
I never thought I would open and taste a 2016 St Julian this early but a wine friend, a very generous wine friend, fell in love with this wine early and suggested opening and enjoying now... St Julian with five years, Really no I can’t, ok I am in.
15 minutes in the glass and swirl- First impression is wow the wine is impeccably balanced which I rarely find this early in their development- and a wonderfully long finish. Wine has blackberry and black currant that is layered upon layer of alternating fruit and non-fruit goodness. How did they get the tannins and acid to integrate and play off each other so nicely - no idea but so well packaged even now. If you have multiples, open with confidence now (or coravin) as it is already an inviting treat but if not, hold as the wine is headed for further greatness.
Consumed over two nights. Dark fruit, rocks and floral notes dominate. The palate is very silky and the structure, while there, is not overbearing right now. Has a good weight to it despite its richness and density. A great wine already though there's no doubt 10-15+ years will do this well.
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How could anyone not like this wine? It has everything: balance, depth, polish, beautiful nose, lingering finish with slippery fine tannins. Subtle but somehow strong notes of blueberry. Noticeably thin body, however. Interestingly, gives up the ghost after only 3 hours or so after opening. A long decant would not appear to be very helpful.
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I had to try a bottle and I have a few more to age the decades it will need for this to be on point. Decanted about 8 hours, this wine is super polished, very few hard edges. You know it is Ducru right away from the violets, blueberry and espresso. Oak is in great harmony and tannin is in line. This wine will be off the charts in 20 years. So seductive and sexy. You can drink this young, give at least 8 hours to decant but if you can wait this will be unbelievable in the years to come.
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Scents of blackberry and gravel, and basically the same on the palate - piercing blackberry fruit pitch-black in tone with a slick surface gloss that smooths over most of the tannin, laced with a gravelly rockiness. It's in a remarkably polite and polished style, not like the 2014 with its raw muscle and not as explosive either, instead both more refined and more restrained.
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85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot. 13.5% alcohol.
Really majestic and amazing aroma image with darker red berries, plums, blackcurrant leaves, nutmeg, dark powerful flowers, young coconut and light bacon fat. Really complex and distinctive. Lovely voluminous and yet silk. "An iron fist in a velvet glove" fits perfectly here, with gorgeous energetic fruit of red fresh berries, purple plum skin, salt, licorice, mushrooms and sweeter wood. Fabulous tannin structure and acidity. Sensational long and great finish. Outstanding wine. 98 points.
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Nose: Amazing straight from the bottle. Initial boquet of florality followed by rich forest floor with undergrowth, shadowed by brooding red and blue fruits, pleasant barn leather, slightly smokey/lightly charred oak, soft spiced oak and some dulled pencils (in a good way).
Palate: Deep, rich earth with dark red and blue fruits, softly spiced tree bark, some savory minerals with a touch of bitterness along with similar pencil notes from the nose. With time in the glass, vivid and slightly prickly raspberries (without the usual too strong tartness) show more and the spice becomes a little bit more firm.
Really dark crimson core. Dry with medium to medium-plus amounts of chewy tannins. Medium bodied with medium to medium-plus acidity. Good finish of about 15-17 seconds with additional time for black tea, savory minerality and some oak. I can't get over the initial nose on this, it floored me. I don't think I took a sip until 10 minutes in. On the palate, the acidity brings a freshness to this (and it seems like it is due to the youth of this wine) but it is also rich in flavors yet elegant. Everything on the nose and the on the palate works nicely with each other. I don't want to say it's balance because I don't think that'll do this justice. I don't blame you for opening this now because it's actually still very enjoyable but try your best to have some patience as I think this would be incredible in about 4-5 years. I'm not familiar with how long it takes for acidity to integrate in wine (cause of my lack of patience) but I can imagine when it does, this will be so good. I'm also guessing acidity takes a lot longer than the tannins to integrate. So amazed how it's so nice now and if you have a few bottles of this, it will be a good journey to see its different stages. Give it at least 4-5 years if you can and I imagine this to be 98-99 range for me.. don't be impatient like me though (I just don't have the proper storage to do so but I'm probably just making excuses now).
Voluptuous, silky, dense and rich, the wine hits your palate and stays there with layers of lusciously textured, perfectly ripe cassis and blackberries. Full-bodied, concentrated and balanced between power and elegance, this is a stunning example of Ducru Beaucaillou. It is hard to decide if I prefer the sensuality on the palate, the length or purity. So I did what needed to be done, I took another sip. And with this in your glass, you will do the same. The wine is a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot.
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Northern Médoc sweet spots: pricey and not so pricey (The Médoc): This blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot at first has a somewhat impenetrable nose. With time in glass, it shows off such gorgeous and vivid floral and cassis aspects. The palate is very robust and dense: a Pauillac like grip to it. To me however, it is neither as refined, nor as precise as Léoville Las Cases. But an excellent Saint Julien to be sure with lovely density and especially impressive length, with lift. Such floral elegance! For more information with pictures: http://wine-chronicles.com/blog/northern-medoc-2016-bottle/
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Opaque with shiny, purple highlights, this creation is brimming with flowers, licorice, dark berries, boysenberry, black cherry, smoke, espresso and a spot of wet earth on the nose. With velvet textures, density of fruit and a finish that remains with you for close to 60 seconds, this is a seldom-encountered purity of fruit, which is pulling ahead in the competition for the best Ducru Beaucaillou ever! Produced from 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot, the wine reached 13.63% alcohol with a pH of 3.71 and is aging in 100% new French oak barrels. The Merlot was harvested from September 26 to September 30 and the Cabernet Sauvignon from October 7 to October 14. Yields were only 30 hectoliters per hectare.
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9/5/2023 - Jeff Leve wrote: 100 Points
Power and purity with intensity, length, volume, style, and character, this is what great wine is all about. On the palate, the wine is mouth-filling, yet, light on its feet, almost weightless. The tannins are refined, The wine is silky, The fruits, which express their purity are expansive. As good as the nose is, on the palate, the wine builds in all 4 directions. as it crosses your taste receptors and coats your palate, teeth, and gums. The finish is seamless, resonating for over 60 seconds!. The wine blends 85% Cabernet Sauvignon with 15% Merlot. Drink from 2030-2065.
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3/17/2023 - sh6k Likes this wine: 94 Points
Great wine, fully integrated (vs the 2019 that’s all over the place) with fruit and buttery oak, but not exuberant like the 09 or 19 or even 86, even after 3 hours decanting. Hoping it will open up with a few more years.
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2/24/2023 - norway08 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Personal tasting event at Ducru-Beaucaillou with owner Bruno Borie. This vintage is even more elgant and complex than the 2017. Appears a bit more concentrated and fresh and fruity, otherwise the same notes. Very delicate tannins.
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11/23/2022 - zimmy07 Likes this wine: 95 Points
This was hard to drink after the 86, 96 and 2006. It was so big it was distracting. But, this is an incredibly well made wine. Already the fruit and oakstructure are in harmony. Althogh maybe the least enjoyable wine of the evening, it is the best made wine of them all and will be off the charts in 30 years. To bad I will probably be dead by then, but my kids should have a hell of a note...
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11/1/2022 - csimm wrote: 93 Points
Bordeaux tasting - with a few pirates: This was wound a bit tight tonight in my opinion, never fully expanding or offering up the goods. The 2018 Ducru served next to it was by far more expressive and giving, especially on the front end of immediate flavor and intensity. This 2016 was primary and linear most of the tasting, peekabooing here and there, but mostly hiding behind a firm shoulder-shrugging of tannins and bitter berry fruit. A wine to hold for a while if possible. In wine sage terms, this appeared shut down to me. I don’t know if a decanting defibrillator might have woken it up or not. This would have been a wine to sample again on a second (third?) day.
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10/29/2022 - WineBurrowingWombat Likes this wine: 94 Points
Bordeaux tasting with some Napa outsiders (The Embrace of Silence): Aromas of dark red and blue fruit, damp oak and dark earth.
Flavors of similar dark red fruits from the nose, lifted spice and savory oak.
The younger sibling won the fight this night. Starting to wonder is it going into that stupid "shut down" phase. I say that because I loved this when it was younger, showing much more vibrancy and energy before. This wasn't too exciting, unfortunately. It probably it closing down. Probably the only annoying thing about Bordeaux wine is that damn phase. Can you imagine if people did that? Come out to play and have the time of your life then go hibernate for 10 years.. how annoying would that be? Anyways, see this guy in another 6-8 years.
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10/29/2022 - sfwinelover1 wrote:
Bordeaux and Beyond (The csimm_M Estate): Brought by the ever generous A_M and T along with their 3 stone cold winners to BDX night. As mentioned in my note for the far more open business ‘18 of this bottling, other iterations of this have fallen on the wrong side of my just too subtle/where’s the fruit side of my BDX tasting experiences, and this was on the far side of even those. There’s a hint of fruit, mostly tart red berries, but it’s buried (no pun intended) under a mound of earthy minerality, dried flowers and other similar notes giving this a monochromatic feel, kinda like one of my Cain 5s put through a funnel which strained out most of the taste. I tasted this at least twice, over the course of several hours, with similar notes. Totally inconsistent with notes of others here (but not from our group) and critical reviews, which brings up the question of whether this has gone into a dumb phase, was an off bottle or whether all of our collective palates have just been blown out by so much Napa grape juice that we just can’t appreciate anything not dialed up to DEFCON 4. Anyway, I’m withholding a score, and suggesting if you have a bottle, you put it somewhere next to that ‘18 Montrose and break it out for toasting when you buy your first flying car. And if you don’t have a bottle and have the $ for the WS price, buy that ‘16 Pontet and use the remainder for Chipotle takeout for a week. Score withheld.
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10/29/2022 - bsumoba wrote:
Wine: the Gathering Old World, Bordeaux (Château de Chris et Melissa): Had alongside the 18. Solid middle of the pack contender in this evening. Good fruit, good complexity to the wine. A bit tannic on the mid palate. I hope I can try this again in another 5-10 years.
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10/23/2022 - Cailles wrote: 93 Points
Brief impressions only, no notes taken. Very promising wine with a superb structure, beautiful, not too ripe 2016 fruit mostly in the black and blue spectrum, a broad array of earthy aromas. We didn‘t catch the wine at the best moment (not decanted) as it remained a wild and unbalanced over the course of an hour+ we followed it. But same is true for many other 2016s at this point. Better wait. The potential seems great but the experience today was in the 92/93 pts range only.
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9/17/2022 - levicn wrote: 92 Points
醒酒两个多小时，中紫红色，闻香有李子，醋栗，奶油巧克力的味道，入口酸度中高，酒液咸，单宁紧涩，颗粒细腻，青椒和李子的香气为主，余味满口奶香，酒体中等，结构不错，不是那种特别雄壮的酒，口感也不似新世界般的浓郁饱满，整体比较平衡优雅，因为年份太新的关系还没发展出太多复杂度和深度，现在以奶香和果味为主。
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7/8/2022 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
Powerful, intense, rich, long, full-bodied, and concentrated, the wine is almost off the charts. From start to finish, this is a wow wine! As good as the nose is, on the palate, the wine explodes. The fruit is expansive, building and moving as it coats your palate. The seamless finish hits every nook and cranny in your mouth with layer after layer of lush, opulent, complex fruits. Drink from 2030-2065.
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5/29/2022 - cos65 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Lovely huge balanced St Julien. Quite elegant though its size
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5/20/2022 - Paul D wrote: 95 Points
TWS Virtual Ducru Beaucaillou Tasting with Bruno Borie: TWS Virtual Tasting (13.5% ABV, 85% CS, 15% M). Opaque ruby, very narrow pale rim. Slightly reticent at first coming round to show pure dark fruit, quite rich, with a touch of smoke and gravel, cedar spice. Complex. Medium/full bodied, generous, dark fruit, cedar, touch of smoke, pencil lead, very fine tannins, fresh acidity, very long. Excellent/outstanding, will probably drink quite early but should age well too.
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9/11/2021 - englishman's claret wrote: 98 Points
A wine of singular elegance and beauty, recalling nothing so much as the sublime 1961 for its combination of sumptuous yet precise blue, black, and red fruit, earthen mineral and pencil notes balanced by wildflower. Rich yet athletic and fresh as the day is long. 97-100
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9/5/2021 - WineBurrowingWombat Likes this wine: 96 Points
Nose: [58°] Softly bright, fresh red fruits like cherries with stems and cranberries over a clean, dry forest floor, some damp moss and lightly spiced soft oak. [64°] After hours of air time, the red fruits recede while black currants emerge with damp forest floor, dark green and brown brush, tree branches and a dark violet floral note.
Palate: [58°-64°+] Fresh black plums with bright yellow flesh, black mulch, river minerals, dark graphite, savory and bitter tannin like tree bark and steeped tea. There's also a bit of underbrush and softly spiced oak.
Attributes: Clear dark medium ruby. Dry with medium to medium-plus amounts of fine grained tannin. Medium body with medium-plus acidity. Good finish of at least 16-18 seconds.
Thoughts: I think I got away with murder the first time I had this; a completely different experience compared to the first time I had this bottle. A darker and more earthbound profile compared to the fresh, vibrant profile I remembered about two years ago. The good news is that the wine kept getting better and better in the glass, hour after hour. Great integrated acidity and minerals here. Very enjoyable but will need a long decant. This took about 7-8 hours to really show its good stuff. 96 for now and should gain back another point or two with another 5-6 years minimum of cellaring.
Serving notes: Bordeaux glass. Emptied bottle into a decanter at cellar temp ~55° for 7.5 hours before serving, continued to decant while consumed over another 4 hours (total 11.5 hrs). Recommend serving ~64° with a decant of at least 7-8 hours at cellar temp if opening now.
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4/15/2021 - LiteItOnFire Likes this wine: 95 Points
PnP and then 30 minutes in the glass.
I never thought I would open and taste a 2016 St Julian this early but a wine friend, a very generous wine friend, fell in love with this wine early and suggested opening and enjoying now... St Julian with five years, Really no I can’t, ok I am in.
15 minutes in the glass and swirl- First impression is wow the wine is impeccably balanced which I rarely find this early in their development- and a wonderfully long finish. Wine has blackberry and black currant that is layered upon layer of alternating fruit and non-fruit goodness. How did they get the tannins and acid to integrate and play off each other so nicely - no idea but so well packaged even now. If you have multiples, open with confidence now (or coravin) as it is already an inviting treat but if not, hold as the wine is headed for further greatness.
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4/14/2021 - PSanDiego Likes this wine: 99 Points
Had my second bottle, again wow! Gone before the meal ended, with everyone looking at what was in other's glasses.
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1/4/2021 - PSanDiego Likes this wine: 99 Points
WOW. What a great Bordeaux wine.
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12/27/2020 - DJDX Likes this wine: 95 Points
Very young. Finally opened after 5 hours of decanting.
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12/10/2020 - B Paul wrote:
Consumed over two nights. Dark fruit, rocks and floral notes dominate. The palate is very silky and the structure, while there, is not overbearing right now. Has a good weight to it despite its richness and density. A great wine already though there's no doubt 10-15+ years will do this well.
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12/6/2020 - tundraline Likes this wine: 93 Points
How could anyone not like this wine? It has everything: balance, depth, polish, beautiful nose, lingering finish with slippery fine tannins. Subtle but somehow strong notes of blueberry. Noticeably thin body, however. Interestingly, gives up the ghost after only 3 hours or so after opening. A long decant would not appear to be very helpful.
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7/20/2020 - zimmy07 Likes this wine: 96 Points
I had to try a bottle and I have a few more to age the decades it will need for this to be on point. Decanted about 8 hours, this wine is super polished, very few hard edges. You know it is Ducru right away from the violets, blueberry and espresso. Oak is in great harmony and tannin is in line. This wine will be off the charts in 20 years. So seductive and sexy. You can drink this young, give at least 8 hours to decant but if you can wait this will be unbelievable in the years to come.
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2/22/2020 - Keith Levenberg Likes this wine: 95 Points
Scents of blackberry and gravel, and basically the same on the palate - piercing blackberry fruit pitch-black in tone with a slick surface gloss that smooths over most of the tannin, laced with a gravelly rockiness. It's in a remarkably polite and polished style, not like the 2014 with its raw muscle and not as explosive either, instead both more refined and more restrained.
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11/27/2019 - Andre Brattland wrote: 98 Points
85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot. 13.5% alcohol.
Really majestic and amazing aroma image with darker red berries, plums, blackcurrant leaves, nutmeg, dark powerful flowers, young coconut and light bacon fat. Really complex and distinctive. Lovely voluminous and yet silk. "An iron fist in a velvet glove" fits perfectly here, with gorgeous energetic fruit of red fresh berries, purple plum skin, salt, licorice, mushrooms and sweeter wood. Fabulous tannin structure and acidity. Sensational long and great finish. Outstanding wine. 98 points.
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10/4/2019 - WineBurrowingWombat Likes this wine: 97 Points
Nose: Amazing straight from the bottle. Initial boquet of florality followed by rich forest floor with undergrowth, shadowed by brooding red and blue fruits, pleasant barn leather, slightly smokey/lightly charred oak, soft spiced oak and some dulled pencils (in a good way).
Palate: Deep, rich earth with dark red and blue fruits, softly spiced tree bark, some savory minerals with a touch of bitterness along with similar pencil notes from the nose. With time in the glass, vivid and slightly prickly raspberries (without the usual too strong tartness) show more and the spice becomes a little bit more firm.
Really dark crimson core. Dry with medium to medium-plus amounts of chewy tannins. Medium bodied with medium to medium-plus acidity. Good finish of about 15-17 seconds with additional time for black tea, savory minerality and some oak. I can't get over the initial nose on this, it floored me. I don't think I took a sip until 10 minutes in. On the palate, the acidity brings a freshness to this (and it seems like it is due to the youth of this wine) but it is also rich in flavors yet elegant. Everything on the nose and the on the palate works nicely with each other. I don't want to say it's balance because I don't think that'll do this justice. I don't blame you for opening this now because it's actually still very enjoyable but try your best to have some patience as I think this would be incredible in about 4-5 years. I'm not familiar with how long it takes for acidity to integrate in wine (cause of my lack of patience) but I can imagine when it does, this will be so good. I'm also guessing acidity takes a lot longer than the tannins to integrate. So amazed how it's so nice now and if you have a few bottles of this, it will be a good journey to see its different stages. Give it at least 4-5 years if you can and I imagine this to be 98-99 range for me.. don't be impatient like me though (I just don't have the proper storage to do so but I'm probably just making excuses now).
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9/21/2019 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
Voluptuous, silky, dense and rich, the wine hits your palate and stays there with layers of lusciously textured, perfectly ripe cassis and blackberries. Full-bodied, concentrated and balanced between power and elegance, this is a stunning example of Ducru Beaucaillou. It is hard to decide if I prefer the sensuality on the palate, the length or purity. So I did what needed to be done, I took another sip. And with this in your glass, you will do the same. The wine is a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot.
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2/7/2019 - watcheslover Likes this wine: 97 Points
Excellent mais un petit ton haut dessous de ses collègues
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11/12/2018 - PanosKakaviatos Likes this wine: 98 Points
Northern Médoc sweet spots: pricey and not so pricey (The Médoc): This blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot at first has a somewhat impenetrable nose. With time in glass, it shows off such gorgeous and vivid floral and cassis aspects. The palate is very robust and dense: a Pauillac like grip to it. To me however, it is neither as refined, nor as precise as Léoville Las Cases. But an excellent Saint Julien to be sure with lovely density and especially impressive length, with lift. Such floral elegance! For more information with pictures: http://wine-chronicles.com/blog/northern-medoc-2016-bottle/
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4/17/2017 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
Opaque with shiny, purple highlights, this creation is brimming with flowers, licorice, dark berries, boysenberry, black cherry, smoke, espresso and a spot of wet earth on the nose. With velvet textures, density of fruit and a finish that remains with you for close to 60 seconds, this is a seldom-encountered purity of fruit, which is pulling ahead in the competition for the best Ducru Beaucaillou ever! Produced from 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot, the wine reached 13.63% alcohol with a pH of 3.71 and is aging in 100% new French oak barrels. The Merlot was harvested from September 26 to September 30 and the Cabernet Sauvignon from October 7 to October 14. Yields were only 30 hectoliters per hectare.
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