Compelling from start to finish, the black, purple color invites you in. From there, the perfume, with its array of flowers, black, red, and blue fruit, chocolate, espresso, licorice, and liqueur lets you know you are in for a treat. And, that happens as soon as the multiple waves of fruit start coating your palate with their layers of perfectly ripe, silky, seductive, fresh, opulent, velvety, pure black, red, and blueberries. Along with 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022, this is in line to be one of the best vintages ever produced at Ducru Beaucaillou! The wine blends 80% Cabernet Sauvignon with 20% Merlot. Drink from 2030-2065.
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Way too young but I wanted to understand first hand what way too young means for a good Bordeaux (with the comparison in mind to the 2009 DBC (as the kids say) I had last week).
Oak dominates — butter and tannins and spice and just plain wood. With no decanting, a bitter / pine / juniper note on the palate. After 90 minutes of decanting plus aerating with a milk frother, pretty darn good. Not up to the 2009 but very drinkable.
Cassis and dark fruits, still a movie theater full of butter, spice and cedar. Bacon. Intimations of tobacco but not fully there yet. Tannins are in no way overpowering. Coherent solid core structure — the youth means there are flavors going off in their own directions, but there’s a large core that holds together.
Anyway — drinks pretty well now after a good decant, and has the structure to be brilliant with more time.
Young wine, tannic, started out slowly with tannin predominating, wine began to open up over 4 hours, excellent fruit balanced with the tannin emerged, medium body with complex flavors, excellent structure, wine tasted great but still has enormous room for improvement, I have been tasting a number of Bordeaux's lately and this wine is top of the heap, drank with beef filet and Maine lobster tail, would drink again but pricey, tasted in FW.
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Inky, deep, shiny purple in color, the wine looks just great in your glass. From there, the nose with its potent bouquet of creme de cassis, blackberries, and blueberries, along with complexities of licorice, smoke, espresso, cigar box, tobacco leaf, flowers, spice, and lead pencil begins to reel you in. There is depth, concentration, and richness, yet the wine is fresh, balanced, pure, and vibrant. The almost seamless finish resonates with layers of mouth-filling, opulent, sensuous, creamy black and blue fruits that stick with you for over 50 seconds. It is going to be a treat to taste and compare the 18, 19, and 20 for the next generations. Give this beauty some time in the cellar and you will have one of the wines of the vintage. Drink from 2030-2060.
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9/5/2023 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
Compelling from start to finish, the black, purple color invites you in. From there, the perfume, with its array of flowers, black, red, and blue fruit, chocolate, espresso, licorice, and liqueur lets you know you are in for a treat. And, that happens as soon as the multiple waves of fruit start coating your palate with their layers of perfectly ripe, silky, seductive, fresh, opulent, velvety, pure black, red, and blueberries. Along with 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022, this is in line to be one of the best vintages ever produced at Ducru Beaucaillou! The wine blends 80% Cabernet Sauvignon with 20% Merlot. Drink from 2030-2065.
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2/4/2023 - sh6k Likes this wine: 97 Points
Way too young but I wanted to understand first hand what way too young means for a good Bordeaux (with the comparison in mind to the 2009 DBC (as the kids say) I had last week).
Oak dominates — butter and tannins and spice and just plain wood. With no decanting, a bitter / pine / juniper note on the palate. After 90 minutes of decanting plus aerating with a milk frother, pretty darn good. Not up to the 2009 but very drinkable.
Cassis and dark fruits, still a movie theater full of butter, spice and cedar. Bacon. Intimations of tobacco but not fully there yet. Tannins are in no way overpowering. Coherent solid core structure — the youth means there are flavors going off in their own directions, but there’s a large core that holds together.
Anyway — drinks pretty well now after a good decant, and has the structure to be brilliant with more time.
5 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (4)
11/30/2022 - mwneil Likes this wine: 96 Points
Young wine, tannic, started out slowly with tannin predominating, wine began to open up over 4 hours, excellent fruit balanced with the tannin emerged, medium body with complex flavors, excellent structure, wine tasted great but still has enormous room for improvement, I have been tasting a number of Bordeaux's lately and this wine is top of the heap, drank with beef filet and Maine lobster tail, would drink again but pricey, tasted in FW.
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3/29/2022 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
Inky, deep, shiny purple in color, the wine looks just great in your glass. From there, the nose with its potent bouquet of creme de cassis, blackberries, and blueberries, along with complexities of licorice, smoke, espresso, cigar box, tobacco leaf, flowers, spice, and lead pencil begins to reel you in. There is depth, concentration, and richness, yet the wine is fresh, balanced, pure, and vibrant. The almost seamless finish resonates with layers of mouth-filling, opulent, sensuous, creamy black and blue fruits that stick with you for over 50 seconds. It is going to be a treat to taste and compare the 18, 19, and 20 for the next generations. Give this beauty some time in the cellar and you will have one of the wines of the vintage. Drink from 2030-2060.
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9/11/2021 - englishman's claret wrote:
Another extremely positive experience with this wine, mirroring my prior note.
5 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (6)