Ducru Beaucaillou Vertical (1978, '85, '86, '95 and '96, with a few extras)

Alex and I had had a few bottles of Ducru, Sasi threw in a couple more, and we had a vertical and, as often happens, a few other bottles popped up here and there. We tasted with a whole host of people - Alex & Fiona, Lionel & Rachel, Eddee, Karam, Ray, William, Sasi, Lawrence x 2, Yi Loong, and Siang. Great fun at this tasting, great company, enough time to enjoy the glasses, and really good wines. All wines were served blind.

• 1996 Château Pontet-Canet 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  From Sasi's stock. My, this was much better than the last bottle I had. Darkly coloured, with sweaty leather, meat and mineral dominating at first, but this was nowhere as animale as the last bottle. After time, pure, very Pontet Canet cassis fruit and more classic Pauillac notes of tobacco leaf and forest floor started showing, with a slight streak of green pepper which became more and more obvious with time. Very tight and dry on the palate, which was loaded with tight tannins and fresh acid. Again, clean, rather concentrated cassis flavours emerged with time. Long finish with spice and more bell pepper.

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• 1978 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  This seemed to be tiring slightly. Garnet and ruby tones, a bit murky. Lots of secondary barnyard and dust at first, but the funk blew off slightly and the wine showed rather typical tea-leaf and floral accents. Still noticeable tannins, but this had rounded off, and the wine had a soft feel. There was plenty of fresh acid on the palate, which had leather and spice flavours, but the fruit was extremely subdued, almost absent. Finish was satisfying, but not all too long. Decent wine.

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• 1985 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  I thought this was outstanding - surprisingly preferring it to the 1995 and 1996. I think those two, especially the former, would very likely overtake this wine in 10 years. However, this is just drinking so beautifully now. Still dark ruby coloured, with a pink rim, the wine was singing, with a very fresh, perfumed nose, full of plummy notes and perfumed frangipani flowers - exteremely expressive and really exquisite. The palate was ripe and round, with plump dark fruit, a slight green pepper tone and a flinty mineral note. The tannins had softened and rounded of, but there was still los of bright acid, that swam submerged under the gorgeous attack and then lifted the wine from the mid-palate in a more obvious way all the way through to its ultra-long, juicy finish with a flourish of spice. Tremendous length. This lacked the intensity of some of the other vintages, but was oh so refined and really, really elegant. The most feminine of the lot. It dropped of a bit after half an hour - so drink this up fast when you open it.

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• 1986 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  Still rather darkly coloured, but the rim is starting to turn a garnet shade. Layered cassis flavours on the nose, with a bit of sweetish licorice and quite a bit of savoury, umami tones that made this really unique amongst the Ducrus. William spotted a touch of reduction, which blew off after awhile. This was still perfumed, but somehow seemed a bit jammier and less elegant and flowery than the other vintages. I thought the most rustic of the lot. Same thing on the palate as well, slight jamminess, denser than the other vintages, but with the same nice bright acid keeping the wine on its toes and more cassis fruit. The wine had a tight tannic structure. While not being coarse, it was certainly the least well-formed of the flight as well. Finished okay, with hints of smoke a slight metallic tang, and some oaky flavours underlaying all this. Good but not great.

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• 1995 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  This was a very good wine indeed, everything was in the right place - it just did not excite me as much as it should for some reason. Still darkly purple. Nose showed some meat, some green pepper, the littlest undertone of buttery oak and lots of dark, brooding blackberry and plum fruit. Very good. After some time, a familiar jasmine tea-ish scent appeared as well as a slightly dried-fishy tang, rather like loam or mud from a forest stream - sounds bad, but really more interesting, even enticing than unpleasant. The palate showed great balance, power and intensity, with lots more of the dark, plush fruit, yet it was still friendly and very poised, unlike the 1996, which came across rather big and loud in spite of its loads of seductive fruit and flowers. This had real structure - lovely fresh acid and the finest tannins moving into a nice round finish which, while not long, was not exactly short either. Overall, this was a solid wine that has quite a bit of room for improvement as it ages. Probably the most classic Bordelais of the vintages we tried too.

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• 1996 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  Decanted about an hour. Darkly ruby, not surprisingly the darkest coloured of the lot we drank, with a surprisingly youthful pinkish rim. Really seductive nose, little mushroom and earth at first, and then all intense layered dark fruit and flowers, even a bit of licorice somewhere. Palate was ripe and round, with lots of fleshy, plummy fruit. This was by far also the ripest and biggest Ducru of the day. Still, like all the other wines, it was nicely pulled together with bright, fresh acidity. All very seamless at first and, in spite of its size, nicely balanced. After some time, little bits dry cedary accents and hints of spice - anise and pepper - started showing. Less meaty and and leathery than the others for sure. It resolved well, but rather shortish at first. I was hoping that it would develop a nice long finish, especially on the back of the super elegant and long 1985, but all I got after a little time was an enticing hint of leather, and then a kick of bitter tannins and acid, and then nothing. In that aspect at least, this wine was rather like a whirlwind romance - started out beautifully, full of lovely things to sweep you away, but ended short and rather bitter. Still, a good wine with lots of "wow" factor, if just a tad obvious.

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• 1996 Château Léoville Poyferré 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  I found this a tad modern and very young still. Rather forward nose, with blackberry and plum held up with buttery oak and coffee. Sweetish palate, very friendly, with fresh acid and more dark fruit. Very, very tight tannic structure, okay at first, but it seemed harsher and harsher as the wine got some air, especially right at the back of the tongue. The wine still seemed balanced, but I think it really needs time to integrate and show its strength.

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• 1989 Château Doisy-Védrines 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  From my cellar. Excellent. Great way to end off a really nice tasting. Deepening golden yellow, amber flecked. Gorgeous nose. Not rich as young Sauterenes from a good vintage, this was more reserved, but still showed good botrytised character, fragant dried apricots and a slightly earthy underbelly specked with mineral notes. Even better on the palate, which was full of rich, mouthfilling flavours. Gone is the cloying sweetness of youth, in its place are layered and mouthfilling flavours of brown sugar, vanilla, honeysuckle, apricot and mineral, wrapped in a super-smooth, very plush package. Complex, mature, seamless, round. This was served blind, and everyone but Sasi missed the vintage by a good decade or so, and who can blame them? It was still so very fresh, almost as if it was masquerading as a sticky half its age, with juicy dollops of acid from the first sip to the long, long, long finish with a hint of dryness, a touch of spice and lingering preserved orange peel flavours right at the end.

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Enough Ducru to last me for a long time. These are very individual wines, somewhat straddling St Julien and Margaux in style. Elegant, clean, clear, with flowery touches and fragrant tea notes running through the vintages. I like the style, but I can see why many would not. All in all, a really good snapshot of the wine through 5 extremely decent vintages. Rather surprisingly, the 1985 got the most votes for the best Ducru of the flight, followed by a few votes for the 1996 and then a couple for the 1986.