When it’s on, it’s on. I’ve only had the 89 (and a damaged 88) in the past, but this bottle was reconditioned at the chateau in 11 and to me shows more 86’ character than any other I’ve had from the vintage. Searing tannins slam the gate on an otherwise generous wine! This particular bottle was impressively fresh, and blind guesses centered in 98-01. Partly this owed to the color showing surprisingly youthful. It was also especially red fruited and bricked. More than a little educational.
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Black in the glass - looked much younger than a wine from '86 (guessed 2000-2005 left Bank Bordeaux). Great nose - tobacco, graphite, leather, blackberry and cassis. Palate had similar flavor profile. Full body, medium acidity and fine, grainy tannins with a very long finish. Beautiful wine. My #3 out of 7 and group's #4 of 7. Loved this. Had a 1/4 glass the next evening and still going strong.
Quite a different bottle from two years ago when it was vibrant and fresh. This is fully brick colored throughout, tastes fully mature and on the cusp of cracking up. Still good, but that Madeira is lurking in the background. Complex and full bodied this Ducru just pulls it off. Decanting not recommended. I’ll be looking to serve the remaining bottles sooner than later. This was recorked at the chateau in 2011.
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Decanted off moderate amount of fine sediment and crust on side of bottle interior. Medium brick red color. Aromas of dusty plum and cherry with some cedar and leather notes lurking. Palate is on the dusty side with cedar, plum, smoke and some leathery/meaty notes that carry into a medium-short finish. Gets broader in the decanter over 3+ hours but overall seems past prime for my tastes. Drink.
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I left this one a few more days to see if the mustiness would blow off, but can confirm this was unquestionably corked. Such a shame as the underlying elements promised a wonderful wine.
For whatever it’s worth, this was the only one of my bottles that was not reconditioned at the chateau it 2011. Although the bottle and cork looked in ok condition, the bottle lived up to the unfortunate reputation of that time period. The reconditioned bottles have been fantastic
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Bummer....was really looking forward to this one but there was a musty start to it that never really left and maybe even got a tad worse toward the end. I did drink a fair amount of it because the fruit was still so dark and strong and good, but it was just off.
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Coming from a bottle that was recorked at the château, this bottle was in unbelievable shape. The fruit was fully intact on a very aromatic nose that was packed with a medley of redcurrants, leather and tobacco. The palette itself was extremely complex, as redcurrants and licorice dominated before an extremely herbaceous mid-palette also brought in spices and meatiness. Interestingly enough, by the last glass, there were hints of cassis on the finish, accompanied by tannins that felt extremely sharp for the age of the wine. A great Ducru-Beaucaillou that was drinking a lot younger than it was.
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from magnum, not re-corked. Cork was totally saturate, but whole. Ulage low shoulder. Decanted 30 minutes prior to serving - lots of fine sediment. Slightly orange rim, but solid color once poured into glass. A waft of classic mature BDX - more red than black fruits with lots of herbs and garrigue. Medium-bodied and somewhat plush on the palate - savory but not harsh structure. Medium-to-long, complex finish with some tobacco, earth, with a hint of brown sugar and cassis. More pleasurable to drink alone than with food, although a filet mignon might be perfect (our grilled lamb chops were not the best fit for this wine). A lovely wine, but I can;t imagine this improving - so recommend drink soon!
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Recorked at château in 2011. A beautiful wine with elegance and charm, but I find it hard to reconcile the 95+ scores with the wine. It has all the qualities one would like from an aged Bordeaux, just not as much in the matter of degree! It lacks the fullness, body and finish that would put it into that higher echelon. For me, it gets a solid A, but not an A+.
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Subtle on the nose - dried red fruit and a touch of earth. Darker fruit profile on the palate with medium body, med+ acidity, and med+ tannin. This is drinking nicely but I doubt it was ever really epic of a wine. Lots of astringent qualities that seemingly has not settled out. It’ll go another 10 years but the fruit will fade.
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Still in great shape and some road ahead of it. Not one of the re-corked bottles, but in excellent condition. Exactly what we’d hoped for and increasingly expressive over three and a half hours. Earthy, gamey, and increasingly a flinty minerality and some band-aid. A touch thin on the palate, as someone noted previously, but it’s in hair-splitting territory. Excellent, excellent.
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Unbelievable for an 86 at this age, still with an amazing earthy nose followed by a surprisingly full balance. A touch thin on the back but fill the mouth for long enough.
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Beautiful complex nose followed by a balanced taste profile. This was a bottle that was recorded at the Chateau in 2011 after 25 years in their cellar. Color was bright and while tannins were resolved, they were still present. This wine should go at peak for at least another 5+ years but why wait! Everything you want Bordeaux to be.
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Pre-1996 Blind Napa vs Bordeaux (Ducru, Heitz, Abreu, Cos d'Estournel, Cask 23 & more) (Charlotte, NC): Double decent 6 hours in advance, recorked within 30 minutes and then slow-ox for 60 minutes before serving. Purchased ex-chateau and was recorked in 2011. There was no sediment on the decant and an explosive nose when opened. The nose remained wonderfully aromatic with rich dark fruits highlighted by cassis. The nose was confirmed on the palate and this wine was a delight: richly textured, ample dark fruits, fully integrated tannins. A wine elegantly balancing primary and secondary notes with restrained power. Medium+ fruit driven finish. A wine I would enjoy all night if this was the only option. Third place overall for WOTN.
5 guesses for Bordeaux, 3 for Napa. My guess: 1986 Ducru.
PnP: It’s over the hill — nearly all the fruit is gone — would have liked to get it 5-10 years ago. That said, I love it madly. There’s something I can’t put my finger on where it’s so full of life and energy — electric, great acidity, crazy long finish. Translucent purple with light browning on the edges. Nose is pretty closed. Palate is butter and light oxidation and nearly-burned toast and tobacco and the forest floor with beautiful mellow acidity and mint. Lots of fine tannins. Finish is more of same, super long.
And again: life affirming energy.
Day 2 (stored in wine squirrel) — some cassis is here now, and the tobacco etc is less noticeable. After 10 minutes of air and vigorous swirling in the glass, the “over the hill” nose is cleared out and it’s … not young but seems like a well-kept 37 year old wine. Still the same beautiful long long finish. If I’m being honest, a little less of the magical life affirming energy. But yknow in its place a beautifully balanced wine.
Lean and elegant, this is a classic Bordeaux that comes from the mediocre days. I believe that 1996 was really the turning point for this producer and while the older wines are still good, with some exception (1990) they are just classic and rather expensive for what they are. This has lots of cedar, unsmoked tobacco, and tart red fruit that is anchored in a nice package of tannins and acidity. This has nowhere left to go but is still rock solid. Drink
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a little disappointing relative to price and how long I waited to have it...delicate wine that still has a medium/good body to it...bright and linear...
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Deep, dark garnet in color with ever-so-slight clearing at the edges. Full, forward & fragrant nose of ripe fruit aromas of cherries, blueberries, & cassis with classic cigar box overtones of tobacco & cedar, floral notes of violets, earthy/dusty, leather, coffee grounds, pepper, dark cocoa, herbs, spices, mint & a hint of minerals & graphite in the background. Medium-full bodied with a very good concentration of well balanced & smooth textured, complex, ripe fruit flavors of sweet dark cherries, cranberries & pomegranate with truffles, dark cocoa, coffee, herbs, minerals and hints of oak. Lingering smooth finish. Drinks quite well at present & at 36 years of age, it is approaching its peak but should be able to continue its development with a few more additional years of aging. Fill was at lower neck level above shoulder; cork was clean & intact.
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Decanted 2 hours. Aroma: cassis, graphite, earth, blackberries, peppercorn and menthol. Palate: smoked meats, savory notes, silky, soft tannins with a very long finish. Excellent structure! Delicious pairing with a standing rib roast with sautéed mushrooms, mashed potatoes + gravy and sautéed summer squash. This one is still magnificent on day 2. What an exquisite Bordeaux! 93-94
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One of the reconditioned bottles from the chateau, very pretty in fact, with a new label and all. This is the way to enjoy mature Bordeaux! No risk of misfire. A truly classic wine this, still fairly deep colour with just marginal bricking. Earthy old cellar and leather on the nose, the balance is great and the fruit mostly noticeable on the mid palate. Tannins almost fully resolved but still present, I think this will last at least another 5 years.
Balanced and drinking well. Finish a bit short on first opening but after about a 1.5 hr decant it came more into its own. Recorked reamining 1/3 bottle and it was still going nicely the next night.
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Tasted in a lineup that included 2015, 2009, 1986, and 1982. The 1986 was the weakest, probably had some slight VA that was distracting. Tried another bottle and was fresher. Similar in style to 1982, at the same evolution state. Less elegant.
We decanted the wine 4 hours plus gave it some time in the glass before it became the great wine it is. On the nose, there was raspberry, menthol and a tiny bit of tar. On the palate, there was a tart cranberry, pomegranate, tobacco and a hint of cedarwood. Almost all of my collection and tasting experience is based on California reds of vintage 2010 or later, so it was a real experience to taste a 36 year old French Bordeaux wine with such different characteristics. We paired this gem with a homemade veggie pasta whose sauce’s primary ingredient was roasted tomatoes. The pairing was absolutely perfect. Note that shaved Parmesan’s umami taste profile alongside this wine is a culinary grand slam. I do recommend giving this wine at least another decade before enjoying, but don’t forget the pasta.
NobleRottersSydney - top 80s Bdx with Rhone ringers (Fix, St James, Sydney): {cork, 12.5%} [Gordon] I gotta say, this smelt a bit TCA-musty right from the start. It never got worse, but never cleaned up either. Soft old leather flavours, but always with a cardboard tinge. Light/medium weight, mirror-smooth in texture, somewhat scalped finish. Re-reading notes from 2018 and 2015 this seemed the least of the three, but I think this is probably at the end of its drinking window at any rate. Definitely showing sub-par tonight.
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One of the ones rebottled in 2011. Bricking at the edges but still a deep purple base. Just kept on improving through the evening even after a 3 hour decant.
Very nice nose with floral notes, menthol, black plum and forest after a rain shower. Doesn't "leap from the glass" but certainly not muted either - and it just kept opening up with time. Just a little lighter than than full body. Dark fruit at the core but resolving into wild blackberry with a little tang. Excellent long finish.
Paired with a massive bone in ribeye which was actually an excellent pairing. The tannins and acidity can hold up with this one even at 36 years.
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While 1986 DB had an record of TCA, this came from a case that was released from Chateau in 2019. Decanted for 2.5 hours and drank first in the line up. Dark amber around the rims. Classic bordeaux bouquet showing dark fruit, earth and licorice. Plums, dark cherries and sage show up first on the palate, leading to pencil, leather and cedar on the finish. Tannins integrated and medium acidity - characteristic of the vintage I was told.
This is everything you want in a mature Bordeaux. Perhaps unfair to have this next to the 1986 Haut Brion, the difference in quality was night and day. Started to go downhill after 4 hours which was a little alarming.
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still fresh and lovely, pretty classic St Julien. Nothing too big or overdone here, a zip of acidity like many '86s. Good bottle only just starting to emerge.
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drank 1 hour after decanting. A little grassy, some smoke along with grilled meats, and perhaps a little brett. Still got tannins, which was pretty amazing consider the age. Pretty fragrant nose, with some savory black tea and tapenade when opened up. Not as much fruit as I was expecting.
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A magnificent bottle, part of a tranche that was recorked at the château in 2011. The deeply complex flavors needed 2-3 hours after decanting to unfurl. Enticing aromas followed by a flavor profile that unwinds plums, licorice, and dark macerated cherries over your palate. Big but balanced. Even smoother the next day. Highly recommended.
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1st night, accurate and precise left bank nose with depth. Full, rich and expressive. Very beautiful and accurate definition of left bank. Multi-dimensional left bank depth. Just opened 5 minutes ago. See how this develops. Meaty, cedar, graphite pencil, leather on the palette. When first opened and first sip, I thought a little faded. That soon develops into something with depth and substance, just needed to open up and develop. *3rd night still very exciting and drinking good.
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Tasted blind. Bottle reconditioned at the Chateau in 2011. It definitely shows the '86 vintage character... rustic, smoky, iron/beef blood, tobacco, cedar. It also shows its signature leanness that you would expect from St. Julien. Others called it '86 Leoville Las Cases. Decanted 2 hours prior to consumption.
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Double decanted in the AM for sediment. Drunk over a few hours.
Violets, cassis, dark cherry fruit, baking chocolate and wet bricks on the nose. This is structured, deep and the palate, with more of the same fruit, lavender, and cool herbal and ferrous undertones added to what the nose showed. This is detailed, deep, and drinking at youthful peak. A wine of power and poise. Pretty terrific tonight and with a long future. 95
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a little grassy, slightly corked, still some fruit on the palate. More than an hour after decanting, the grassy nose was still there but the palate was fine. Very smooth and silky.
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This bottle was ON... nose and length paired well. On its plateau and did not show much advanced aging. Really enjoyed this. Worth opening at this stage.
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Drank at 67 This was a reconditioned bottle au Chateau in 2011. Young, rich and showing lots of fruit. Amazing how much difference the reconditioning makes.
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Father's day dinner. Used my Coravin to check the status of these two bottles from Ducru's problem era. Both were perfect and for all purposes identical so given an aerated decant together for 45 mins with the decanter immediately stoppered. My 2019 note says it all (even the cork reference x 2!) so I repeat it verbatim below:
"Split cork. Deep red/brown aged appearance. Plenty of smoke and truffle on the nose. Concentrated brulé damson and dark berries. Charred oak, earth, integrated tannins and an elegant balancing acidity without the green capsid element of many earlier noted bottles from this batch. Brooding velvety finish. Outstanding."
For drinking over the next 4yrs or so - but caveat emptor!
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At Matbaren. Cedar, flowers (white). Boysenberries. Nose is just superb. Balance is really quite good although I would have wished for some more weight in the fruit. Think the MR has the edge in that respect. Nonetheless - a really majestic wine that hardly shows any signs of unpleasant ageing
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Just one glass from a 6L served at Englishmans_clarets wedding. This was a beautifully crafted wine with blackberry, boysenberry, morello cherry and cedar notes. Bit of spice and leather round it out. A very classic middle weighted wine that expresses the château well. Each time I encounter the 86 it has a remarkable imprint.
Wonderfully complex and mellow, even from 6L, showing a beautiful, medium-intensity mixed berry, loam, ginger, and cedar nose. The aromatic components have melded so smoothly- there are no seams here! 94-95
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March 18 Zoom Group: Rich nose with soft red fruit and lots of earthy tobacco over a nicely dense palate with more red fruit, earth, red pepper. More integrated than other wines tonight, very enjoyable showing. Initially showed a little funk - cork? - that blew off but makes me wonder if this was a bit muted because of it.
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Dinner with the wine group (Zoom): Tasted blind. Medium-deep ruby with minimal bricking; aromatic, plummy, purple fruited; palate is full bodied, medium acidity, medium alcohol, again fruit is more purple to black rather than red, flavors a bit clipped through the midpalate and the medium-minus finish. Very nice, possibly some low level TCA but it's showing so much I'm not sure. I will rate it, but I'm not sure it's 100%. 90
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How interesting: a 1986 vintage bordeaux, rebottled by the chateau in 2011 and looks like new. I've never seen such a thing. The wine itself comes out young looking too, dark like the color of crushed blackberries, with not a glint of amber. The nose is rich with notes of cassis, spicebox, soy and the viscous hoisin sauce that comes with roast-duck pancakes. Medium bodied on the palate, the wine is light on its feet, with delicious fulsome dark berry layers and a tannic edge. Compared to the 1986 Gruaud Larose, this wine is on the younger side, and does not quite have the depth, length and subtle creamy edge of its grown-up neighbor. But folks who own this can wait 5-10 more years to see if time might work some magic.
P.S. This was the last hurrah of the holidays; 'tis now the season to detox. Write again in Feb.
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Decanted about 30 minutes in the glass, then poured from bottle over 90 minutes or so. First sip showed strong dark fruit and Smokey, earthy flavors. Mellowed a bit over the dinner, but still showed great concentration and fruit. Served with rib eye, prepared in cast iron skillet. Last of my two bottles, well worth the price. Probably has another 2-3 years of really good drinking left.
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Rebottled at the Chateau in 2011 and in absolutely perfect condition. Opened, poured and allowed to slow oxidise over several hours.
Nose: Szechuan spice, plum sauce and a delicious savoury note are the first things to hit me. Not going to lie this smells like a luxurious Chinese dish!
Palate delivers on the nose. Wonderfully complex, savoury. Good acidity and resolved tannins. All wonderfully in balance with a lovely long finish.
There seem to be mixed reviews of this out there but this Chateau rebottling was faultless and delicious.
lovely smoky and woodsy notes, with a hint of coffee, some plum, and leather. Smooth on the palate with good acidity. Just beautifully fragrant 15 minutes after decanting. 2½ hours later showing really well with mint and a little more earthy notes. Tannins much more obvious after aeration. Still got plenty of life left.
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I had the pleasure of drinking this wine at a Ducru virtual event alongside a 1975, 1982, 1986, 1996, 2008, and 2019. We were outside and a late thunderstorm destroyed my notes, so I have only notes the bottles here that came out of my personal cellar, and am going from vague memory.
Amongst all those great vintages, the 1986 was our wine of the night. It was so fresh and open, yet complex and layered. Integrated with perfectly smooth tannins and a lingering finish. Sad about losing my notes on this one, but my husband kept saying it reminded him of a campfire (in a good way).
One thing we learned that night is many of the pre-1990 bottles were reconditioned and recorked at the chateau. Tested for TCA and Brett and then topped up with same vintage under nitrogen. The label on this bottle indicated that it had been reconditioned in 2011. I have a few bottles left with one bottle that appears not be be recorked etc, so it will interesting to compare.
Wet forest, mushroom, spices, toast, cedar box, hay, banyard, tobacco. Garnet in color. Medium+ acidity and medium tannin. Can aged further and improve, but already in good drinking window.
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Directly out of the bottle beautiful scent of raspberries, vanilla, porridge, old oak, cedarwood, tar and flintstones.
On the palate light and elegant with a faint but distinct glow of warm fruit, a substantial dry tannin parade, very weak bitter notes and a pleasant old oak, old world aftertaste. All in perfect harmony, no sharp edges. On day 2 in the nose even more refined with layered wood aromas, slightly less fruit and a profound tar base. On the palate just as good as on day 1, with a just slightly reduced warmth.
The major experience with this wine is it's outstanding consistency. What you smell is what you taste and what you smell and taste after opening is what you smell and taste on day 2. This is honest stuff – an enticingly elegant old school experience.
34 years later, tannins have become silky smooth. I can only imagine how powerful the tannins were at bottling. The smooth structure sets up perfect background for smoked cherry & espresso notes. Quintessential long length of good aged st julien. Maybe lucky bottle, but wasn’t far from complexity of ‘82. Fantastic!
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Strongly marked by acidity in the first hour which unbalanced the wine. This settled down after a while (we should have decanted from the beginning) but the wine never fully opened up. Not sure if it was bottle variation.
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Lovely old and classy Medoc aromas. Cool and Pauillac like in the beginning. Later more floral St. Julien / Margaux aromas. Still a lot of fruit and structure, but the floral aroma is ruling here, and is what makes the wine.
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12.5% ABV. Looking more like a 10- or 15-year old wine, the 1986 Ducru-Beaucaillou gives off powerful notes of cassis, black pipe tobacco, toasted walnuts, graphite, mint and cedar. Medium- to full-bodied on the palate, with plenty of dark fruits, earth, red berries and minerals. Really fans out on the long, complex finish, with gentle grip and persistence that lingers long after the wine is swallowed. A wonderful, classic Bordeaux that is drinking very well today. Other than one stupendous bottle of the 1982 consumed ~ 10 years ago, this particular bottle was as good as any Ducru I’ve tasted from the 80’s. Great stuff! 95.
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Nose of aged Bordeaux, smoke, leather, a bit of a Brett influence. But under that was certainly still a bit of black cherry although definitely on the faded side. The entry of this wine is tobacco and cigar and worn saddle leather. A little bit of clove and a little bit of fig. Integrated cedar tannin finish. Really neat wine in a nice spot. IMO definitely a bit over the hill but not done. If you have these, it is time to start drinking on 'em.
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Served 1½ hours after decanting. Smoky with a hint of grass. Actually it was TCA and the wine was lightly corked. Some graphite and mint, leather. Pretty nice after 3 hours when the wine has fully opened up, and the TCA faded into the background.
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Opened and decanted at restaurant. A bit of funky nose to start where we weren’t totally sure if we got a good one....
Funk blew off within a few minutes and it only kept getting better. Delicious. Everything was balanced and integrated. Easy to drink. Smooth, velvety, fresh and alive. I guess I haven’t had too many (good) older Bordeaux so I can only say what it wasn’t. Didn’t taste dusty or musty. Tannins nor alcohol stood out in a detracting way. Fruit was still fresh tasting, ripe, sweet, not watery, but muted in a pleasant way. Medium acidity. I didn’t really notice developed secondary flavors, just about lovely subtle red and sweet black fruit, and earthiness. I wouldn’t have imagined this was a 33 yr old wine. It was lovely to the last drop. It tasted fresh but muted reflecting its maturity.
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first bottle was served more than 1½ hours after decanting. Smoky with a slight hint of vegetal green. Classic Saint-Julien. Really opened up after 2½ hours in the decanter. Always a pleasure to drink this wine. Second bottle was served after more than 1½ hours in decanter.
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Outstanding bottle from this highly variable case. Decanted for 2hrs. Split cork. Deep red/brown aged appearance. Plenty of smoke and truffle on the nose. Concentrated brulé damson and dark berries. Charred oak, earth, integrated tannins and an elegant balancing acidity without the green capsid element of many earlier noted bottles from this batch. Brooding velvety finish. Outstanding. From Ducru's pot luck period - till 2025 if you hit the right bottle. Always have a sub at the ready! 93+
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What a treat. Perfectly aged and singing tonight. Got this as an anniversary gift for my wife's aunt and uncle a few years ago and held it (they don't have a cellar) and finally found a time to share it (with some anniversary vintage wines of ours).
Transparent garnet with bricked edges. Aromas of cinnamon, red hot candies, cedar, old chest, dried red fruits, and orange peel. Medium body, acid, and medium (+) finish, with flavors of spicy red fruits, and orange and lemon citrus. Perfectly aged and delicious. 91-92
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I hadn’t had a 1986 Ducru in over a decade. At 33 years of age and having plenty of time on my hands tonight I was a little hesitant to decant so decided to wait it out instead if need be and we popped and poured from magnum bottle format. Cork was intact but drying out. It began to crumble when it was pulled and I had to work a bit to get it out in pieces. No signs of leaking or seepage though. Beautiful nose of tobacco and dark fruit aromas. On the palate cedar and leather flavors dominated. Finished nice and long. Wow! Really loved this bottle. If you get your hands on a properly stored bottle I believe it to be underrated here to me. After about 2-3 hours this was showing so beautifully and lasted without fading for over 5 hours until it was gone. No harm, no foul but in hindsight I would have used a decanter. I have one more magnum in the cellar and will decant an hour or so when I open it but I’m not in any rush to drink my last one. I dont believe there’s much room for improvement with time here and I have no 750’s but at least in magnum I’m confident this will go at peak quite a few more years.
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Very interesting experience. Decanted to remove sediment, cork was crumbly. Decent but very subdued nose. Nice complexity of flavors but an unfamiliar taste component that was off-putting to me and prevented this from being a totally enjoyable experience.
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A perfectly clean bottle of this which was re-bottled at the Chateau in 2011. Lean style with a savory texture and earthy flavors with notes of cedar box and smoky faded dark fruits. Finishes silky smooth but lacks great complexity. Still, a lovely mature bottle of Claret for drinking now and over the next 10 years.
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Loads and loads of saddle leather, sandalwood, redcurrant, and a pop of ginger at the end. Still lots of oak on the palate; grippy. This is probably not quite at its apogee yet. Chateau-recorked stock.
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Cassis, black fruits, earthy, musky aroma. Tasted black fruits, berries, cedar, mint, gravel, stones. Long warm, mint leaves, gravel, bitter finish; slightly dry. You can taste the terroir and the precision and the seriousness. No edges; you can taste the maturity but the energy is still there. Fine example of a St Julien. Class act. Best for the night, opened alongside Opus One 1987. Pop now.
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AG has noted significant bottle variation in these, happily this was one of the bottles not affected by taint. Slow-ox for an hour and then poured. Obvious this was alive from the first. Classic old Bordeaux, well developed, still some secondary elements in play. Drink or hold, doubt any near-term decline but also doubt significant improvement from this stage. Hopefully your bottles will be as good as this one.
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Tasted blind. At Chateau Davyd belated Bday Bordeaux celebration. Appearance is clear, medium intensity, ruby colour with garnet rim. Legs. Nose is clean, medium+ intensity, with aromas of cedar, grilled bell peppers, black cherries, blackberries, leather, dusty earth. Developed. On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium- alcohol (12.5%), silky integrated high tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of tobacco leaf, cedar, sweet grilled bell peppers, blackberries, black cherries, blackcurrant, leather, earth. Long finish. Very good quality. I was guessing St. Julien, but 1990s and not 1986! Wow this was still going strong throughout the night even after 2 hours of air. Balanced now. A fine fine drink.
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A great showing for this wine which was opened and double-decanted for 4 hours and it needed it. All the classic elegance and complexity of this great Chateau in a tightly coiled package with notes of dark spices and sweet graphite rocks on the finish. Rebouche 2011 so a reconditioned bottle.
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Decanted at 3:30pm and tasted until gone around 9pm. The wine was lightly tinged brick on the edge but overall looked good for it’s 32 years with a translucent medium to dark garnet color. The nose was a joy to smell and I could have been happy just smelling this all night. There was chocolate, tobacco, blackberry, tea and a complex array of floral notes. The tannins were fully resolved and the wine was smooth and silky in your mouth. Despite the flavors more or less reflecting those in the nose on the palate it was just a bit less expressive and finished with an earthy whisp of chocolate. Overall, a very nice wine that I paid $35 for on release nearly 3 decades ago. I don’t think there is any reason to wait any longer to have this wine. I can’t imagine it will get much better so enjoy any you have over the next couple years as I will with my last 2 bottles!
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Came across much younger than expected for a 32 year old wine. Has held up impeccably well. And while it is a nice wine I didn’t get too excited after tasting. A good solid Bordeaux that drinks as if it is 15-20 years old, just lacking any wow factor.
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I liked this more than others at the table (though I'm generally more fond of '86 Bordeaux than most), though this feels immensely young and tannic. Tasted from two different bottles - both showing a core of black fruit that's still quite youthful and fresh, accented with cedar, graphite, and a touch of leathery funk (though nowhere near Cordier levels). Time in the glass brings out more low-toned earthy and tobacco notes, though the firm tannin here never seems to soften. This was best with some protein nearby, though more impressive than pleasurable at this point in its life.
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HDH Bordeaux Auction; 11/9/2018-11/10/2018 (Chicago, IL): Seems a bit dirty on the nose. Funky and not entirely the most pleasant. Earthy and animale? There's a bit of woodiness as well. The palate seems a little weird, with a slight bit of wet cardboard funk (though the nose definitely doesn't strike me as corked). Mostly structure, with acid and tannin. Cool, but this doesn't strike me as particularly interesting either. Dried up, perhaps?
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Cork fell apart but was not soaked all the way through. First aromas said flaw. Several more hours did nothing to dissuade. Was looking forward to this one. Oh well.
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Not sure what to make of this. Ok with time open: loads of cedar and toast and a touch of charcoal, but dried fruit in the background. Missing a step on the palate and finish...like it was a ducru, but viewed through a cloudy window. Opened up a bit with more air...took it home and finished on day 2, where it seemed really faded...I'll chalk it up the celllar issues at ducru at the time...
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An excellent showing for this wine and it needed the most time in decanter to show itself. Structured and grippy like all '86's but with nice flavors underneath of tobacco, dark fruits and cedar. A bit tougher in texture than the '85 LLC drunk alongside but ultimately it may have had more complexity with fine notes of spices and minerals on the finish.
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6 OCT 2018 TASTED ’82, ’83 AND ‘86 ‘83: at first, just after decanting seemed thin, minimal nose. But 1 - 2 hours later came ‘out’ and continued to open throughout the evening. Reasonable nose and more complexity, yet minimal finish. After 24 hours under Argon tried it again and still holding. Bought it at Ernie’s in Palo Alto in the late ‘80s for $21.97.!
‘86: Darker in color than the ‘83. Still some tannin, but more tartness with some fruit to balance. After 24 hours, slight hint of fruitiness and berries.
‘82. Darkest of the three, good dark ruby. Big nose, filled the room when decanting. Still alive, some berries in the nose, nicely balanced for a 36 year old wine. Has been in our cellar for a good 30 years. Tried it the next day, and was still a very respectable wine.
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(Yet) another roll of the dice: split cork but not flawed if far from the level of the previous two bottles from this case. Earthy, smokey, but its fruit was too dominated to shine by a green capsid acidity a tad too much to the fore. OK but hoping for better next time. Remember to have a substitute at the ready for the sadly inevitable odd undrinkable bottle! Good bottles will hold up to 2025, so (unless you're psychic) might as well use this date for all!
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NobleRottersSydney - top 80s Bordeaux (360 Bar & Dining, Sydney): {cork, 12.5%} [Gordon] The 86 Mouton is a tough act to follow, but this wasn’t disgraced. It’s evidently aged, with compost and leather aromas, maybe a touch musty after the Paulliac powerhouse. The palate is lovely though; currants, olives, a touch of mixed herbs and a leafy ripeness. Medium-bodied, and still has some medium weight tannins. Feels a bit looser than the top-shelf wines tonight but that’s just context; this would be a star any other time. Medium length finish; at peak drinking but seems likely to hold a while. Decanted just before dinner.
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From a bottle re-corked at Ducru in 2011. Decanted for two hours. A bit of musty funk blew off after about an hour, leaving behind forest floor, tobacco, and blackberry aromas. Wine showed only slight secondary characteristics, with blackberry and currant flavors dominating. Tannins are fully integrated. Could not believe this was a 32-year-old wine. Just fantastic, and still going strong.
This was a pristine ex-cellars bottle. Superbly complex, great core of fruit, mild notes of cedar, cigars, leafy forest floor, and ink. Velvety, balanced, and simply delicious. An amazing bottle.
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This smells like a pine forest, or a drafting table full of pencils, or mossy wet boulders, or all of these things. It’s got that classic “cigar box” aroma, and so much more. Red currants with just a ghost of the black, Worcestershire sauce, celery root, lilacs, sauna rocks, fresh mushrooms from your lawn. Still has some tannic power all these years in, but it’s a fine, dexterous, classy power, and enough freshness persists to potentiate the red fruit and graphite into a glorious, glorious romp through humid subterranean grottos, up into the prickly currant bushes and fungi on the forest floor, and further up into the aromatic conifers and beyond into the ether.
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Sunday Lunch at Crown Wine Cellars (Crown Wine Cellars, 18 Deep Water Bay Drive, Shouson Hill, Hong Kong): Decanted for 1.5 hours (which seemed about right). Jeweled but dark semi-opaque ruby just lightening slightly at the edges. Nose is classic St. Julien, cedar shingles, autumnal damp bracken, super quite ripe blackberries, warm oak. Palate is fabulous.....deep rich blackberry and blackcurrant fruit, a huge blast of resonance inside your head that grows in a mind-expanding way. Good acidity, which it needs because the typical 1996 Bordeaux tannins are very much present. Wow, still a ton of tannin on the back end. Would be 95 pts if the nose matched the palate...which it started to after 2 hours in the glass as pencil lead and graphite increasingly emerged. Lovely and gained to 93+. Has 10 years ahead of it to improve....I definitely wouldn't open a magnum yet if I had one. I loved this...more so than the 1985 vintage I have a case of.
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Birth Year - Themed wine dinner: 1 hour decant, 3 hour follow. I see this as a solid workhorse.. just classic/reliably tasty. Doesn't it stand out like a 90 montrose no. but it's just there, and it's just yummy. i can take this bottle for dinner any day! Classic st julien nose, with a hint of smokiness. Yum!
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Another 1986 Ducru with TCA taint from the issue that happened that year in the winemaking facility. (Google it ... there's plenty of info about it on the internet). It's sometimes very faint, but this bottle had to get dumped out. It's weird how when the taint comes from something other than cork, it behaves differently. We were fooled for a couple minutes, thinking it was just "earthiness" . But within 5 minutes it was all wet newspaper and all that other TCA jazz.
Decanted for an 2 hours before serving. Very earthy. Really opened up after a couple more hours. Leather, forest floor, dark fruits on the nose. Medium Finish
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With the WS South FL group at American English in Hollywood, FL Decanted for 3 hrs before we tried it. Nose screamed Bordeaux right from the beginning. Beautiful and nicely blended tertiary aromas with red/black fruits, tobacco
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Dark mixed berries, cedar, tobacco, honey and tar nose with rich purple color on pour of 1 hour decant. Surprisingly fresh juicy dark, layered fruits with some cassis and light minerals that improved as tannins dissipated with time. Should improve over 3-4 years, and easily go another 10+ years. Drinking nicely but began to fall apart after 4 hours...
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During a merchant tasting. Also here, lovely nose with lots of wet forest floor, pine, dark fruit, very Medoc. No greenness like in the 1985 but a touch rustic.
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Decanted and aerated for an hour than drank over 90 minutes. Ruby red color, some bricking throughout the wine. Nose of cassis, sweet tobacco and coffee. Soft entry on the palate, good acidity, medium bodied and a decent though not flabbergasting finish. Nice mature left bank.
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A lovely deep, youthful colour. The nose is fresh with cassis and blackberry fruit, some capsicum and cedar and tar. It is still relatively tight and compact in the mouth with nice detail of briary fruit flavours and some meat and earthy development sneaking into the flavour profile. Tannins have softened a little but there's a big lick of whippy, minerally acid to the finish.
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Nice wine for the price; ruby red, needs time in the decanter to shed its austere notes. Lots of tobacco, cassis and currants with a touch of peppery finish. Tannins still present but soft, good acidity and balance. Decent finish.
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Picked for OTBN 2017. This was recorked at the Chateau in 2011. Had an orange meniscus at the rim. Classic flavors of fruit rouge, tobacco, and cedar. This was excellent, but not particularly noteworthy.
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A slightly less pleasant experience than the other members'... from a bottle with danish import label, secondary notes quickly fading into a classic tertiary claret experience, still incredibly enjoyable but on the declining end
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My 40th Birthday Weekend; 2/17/2017-2/20/2017: Cherry, tobacco, aging dark fruits and a bit of spice. A lovely aged Bordeaux and still in prime drinking window. More secondary than tertiary and not a lot of funk/earth going on.
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Sometimes this wine is amazing sometimes this wine is not. Just depends on the bottle. Last night it was incredible. Very subtle, and a beautiful cherry Tang the finish. Soft on the pallet
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Recorked at the Chateau in 2011. A very pleasant claret. Nose of sous bois, leather and dark fruit. Palate of blackberry, tobacco, graphite and herbs held in place by a spine of acidity.
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Stored in cold cellar since release. Very high fill level. Cork as new. A bit of bottle stink cleared. Decant for a couple of hours.A little dense, great depth and balance. Powerful. Rich. Tannin .Backward. Not typical St Julien. A fifty year wine.
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A bit of funk on the nose that never quite blew off but the wine seemed fine on the palate with a lovely aged complexity and that nuttiness of aged Bordeaux. Fine flavors of some remaining black currant fruit and tobacco along with notes of Asian spices and forest floor. Finishes with a nice, round complexity and some remaining tannins. Good bottles of this should have plenty of years left. Definitely an old-style Bordeaux.
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Had it alongside a Rauzan Segla 86. Decanted an hour and drank over two. Ruby color, still youthful color for a 30 year old. I have to say compared to some austere 86s I have had, this wine was more open and charming. Nice nose of cassis, leather, spice and sweet tobacco, subtle entry on the palate, good acidity and structure, velvety mid palate and finishes slightly sweet on a raspberry note. Very nice indeed.
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I have to admit I haven't been drinking and clearing wine long enough to drink anything close to this age out of my own cellar. Purchased in the flood of re-bottled CDB that was released in the US in late 2011. Not a bad Bordeaux for $140. Compared to other aged Bordeaux I've been lucky enough to try, this seemed young for its age. Almost a uniform dark ruby color with just a touch of lightening around the rim.
Decanted for two hours before serving. This was in that beautiful phase where its tannins have integrated well, tobacco and cedar undertones are coming through well, but the fruit is still very accessible. Slightly better integration the second day on the leftovers. Definitely would buy again if I found it.
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Dull medium garnet. Spicy raspberry, vanilla, raspberry, and dust on the nose. A bit flat, with sour raspberries, and just a bit of dust. Fairly tasty, but past its prime.
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Last night we opened an '87 Ducru that was noticeably corked. Looking back on my tasting notes, I noticed the last bottle of '86 Ducru we tasted was horribly flawed and corked. That was in 2009. Seven years later, this bottle is showing only moderately better. My tastings of the '90 Ducru have been unbelievable. A bad mid-eighties run.
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Recorked bottle. This wine needs a 2 hr decant to open up. It was tight and tannin initially. Nose had tobacco, earth, red fruit and herbs. Palate expressed decent red fruit after 2 hours of air. Its more bold and powerful than the recorked 85. But it did not have that elegance and smoothness of 85 that I enjoyed a lot. It can easily be cellared for another 5-8 years to reach its peak.
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Delicious and mature claret. Ruby red with bricking throughout, decanted and let breathe than drank over an hour or so. Delightful nose of cassis, leather and earth, supple entry on the palate, coats the mid palate with dark red fruits, good acidity, structure, decent complexity and weight, tannins fully resolved and a satisfying finish. Drink now or hold, this is a beauty at this price point.
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Another roll of the dice; and another excellent bottle very much as my 93pt November '14 entry albeit a little less concentrated all round from memory. Such a pity one has to have a backup bottle standing to attention in case of the dreaded cork virus! Fully mature but with the structure of this bottle certainly fine until approaching the mid 2020s.
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Bottle re-corked by chateau in 2011. This was an amazing bottle. The wine was approachable immediately after pop and pour, however after roughly 30 minutes it was singing. On the nose the wine is surprisingly youthful. Notes of blackberries, blueberries, cassis, eucalyptus, and a hint of leather. On the palate the wine is again youthful and perfectly integrated. Low-med tannins, low alcohol, medium bodied with all of the typical St. Julien notes. I felt that it wasn't until the rear palate that you truly got a hint of how old this wine was. Excellent. A real treat.
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Clear and deep crimson. Nose required an hour or so to open up and delivered astringent, leathery, herbaceous, and red-cedar driven notes. Soily. Better on the palate but still either far more tertiary than expected or just really closed right now. Sharp cranberry, red cedar bark, and leathery red berries throughout. Big tannin but approachable. A good bottle of wine but definitely showed some of the tougher aspects of St. Julien. Not very 'pretty' and outshone by an '86 Palmer enjoyed side by side. Possibly a less than perfect bottle as the cork was a little crumbly even with a Durand. Will try again.
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Thankfully this one was not flawed - far from it! Graciously supplied from his ex-chateau purchase. Thanks, Marc!
Why write TNs when your pals will do it for you, and better than you would?! Thank you both, Marc & Phil! :)
I suppose unsurprisingly, but still remarkable to me how backward and crazy young these 1986s remain! Still tannic/backward/massive - nearly 30 yrs later! Very enjoyable but absolutely still 5+ years until nearing a maturity plateau. Hold!
(*score is genuinely my own!)
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Ducru Beaucaillou vertical: A wine ready to run the long race. This bottle, one of the recently chateau re-corked lot, just poking into maturity. As always, the classic Ducru notes of cassis, mineral, cedar, ginger with such a lascivious body. But also true to Ducru, reflective of the vintage. Thus it's also got darker fruit notes, smoke; a solidly built wine that will last and last. Should approach peak in another 5 years. 94++
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Ducru Vertical with Boston Tasting Group (Brownstone Garden): Nose: Deep blackberry, cassis and gingerbread. Palate: Showing the youngest of these wines by far on the palate. Dense youthful black/blue fruit with floral, pen ink and spice notes. Feel was nice wit a classy glossy polish. Finish: Long and dense with blackberry, fig tart and nice leather/cedar notes. 94+
This was a bottle released earlier this year by the Chateau, and purchased direct. This showed perhaps 15 years younger than the 83, demonstrating the quality of these ex-chateau releases.
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It's a recorked-ex-chateau version. It's medium bodied with ruby red colour. It comes with fresh fruits then plums and res berries accompanied by chocolate and oak. Tannin are resolved and the wine is beautiful, smooth, mature. Enjoyable now.
the wine is just hit or miss depending on the bottle. last bottle i drank was exquisite, this one, not good- but in defense of the wine, we were drinking with all newer wines so a little hard to compare.
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Purchased ex-chateau and part of their recorking exercise in 2011 so came in the new style bottle and reassuring you that you wouldn't be purchasing a corked bottle (which if you weren't aware, caused major issues at the chateau in the late 80s).
Still possessing a dark red core with only slight bricking, so surprisingly youthful for a wine aged nearly 30 years. A floral and fragrant nose with some sweetness which breaks with some rich cherries and faded tobacco. To taste, the most elegant feeling in the mouth, with a 'glass-like' precision: feeling weightless across the tongue and sitting in the base of your mouth around the teeth and gums, before filling out during the swallow.
A medium bodied wine which is seriously smooth and elegant. Still has very light tannins, some heat and a nice balance of fruit, secondary wood/tobacco notes, nice acidity and integrated tannins. I saved two glasses to drink the next day (and sneaked into the cinema) and the wine held together well, actually gaining some weight feeling slightly more tannic.
If you have in your cellar, drink now. But will last longer.
As an additional note, I recently had the 98 and 99 which this started, and remained ahead of. Drank to celebrate YEA 2014. For me, it's wines like this that make bordeaux so special.
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NobleRottersSydney - top 86 Bdx (mostly) with Grange (360 Bar & Dining, Sydney): {cork, 12.5%} (Gordon) Mid garnet. There’s a slight naphthalene, moth-ball hint on the nose, despite the decant it’s had; seems a bit dull and muted after the 89 Lafite; the palate has somewhat fading red fruits, a bit anonymous. For all that the fruit has largely departed, the rest of the structure is pretty tidy, with soft dusty tannins, and medium acidity still hold up. The overall impression is of a wine a bit blocky and hard-edged, with a medium-length finish. It doesn’t have a lot of charm, and amongst tonight’s shining stars it was probably the dud, but on its own it would be fine, even if not a truly memorable experience. Ready to drink.
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brought to a lovely dinner with dear friends, and it could not have been more wonderful. Excellent Bordeaux...got better as the night went on, I couldn't get enough.
Eureka!! Perfect cork, perfect bottle (at fifth attempt) from this notoriously troubled period in Ducru's otherwise illustrious history. Two hour almost clean decant. Deep colour. Intense aromas of dense cooked plum and hedge fruits, touch of of truffle and toasty oak. Not a hint of cork/fault. Wonderful rich fruit concentration on the mouth, dashes of tar, a little heat with integrated tannins. Notable balancing acid. Long. Perfection - such a pity that so many bottles are corked/faulty and don't reach this level. This example would certainly have had another ten years ahead of it - but I wouldn't chance it given the inconsistency between bottles.
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Clear. Light redish, bricking and light edge. Clean. Developing. Straight forward nose, berries, plums, cedar wood and tobacco, some sweet notes to the fruit. Easy going and a light sweet note on the palate as well, ripe tannins, slight rawness to them. Sleek, bit light, good freshness/med acidity. Good length on the finish.
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- Garnet color with slow forming legs and aromas of cut green grass, bell pepper, blackberry, black currant and raspberry. It's balanced and has flavours of cherry, asparagus, honey and vanilla with a full body. Smooth texture with a long finish - This wine was decanted for 4.5hrs. It's was truly perfect in sense of what mature Bordeaux should be. Yes it needs allot of air and opening it for 15min will not help you. I loved this wine and it was truly sublime. I have a few more and will opened them up over the next 2-3yrs for sure.
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Brought to dinner at Boca. No formal notes. Fully mature Bordeaux. Earthy nose. Delicious ripe fruit. Excellent length. Integrated oak and soft tannins.
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Pop/pour. Initially I thought this was off, maybe corked. Then after 15 minutes or so, thought it was just tired. After an hour, this rounded out nicely. This drinks as mature for sure. But given enough time, it's a "good mature". Whatever oak was used has turned into aged cedar. I've got a couple more of these, and will be drinking soon. If I were to guess, this was probably better "back in the day", say 5-10 years ago. But still pleasant for anyone who likes the mature version of Bordeaux.
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Dégustation Bordeaux 1986 Chez Christophe: Un nez discret, fumé, avec des notes de mine de crayon. Comme les autres vins de ce groupe, il paraissait bien sévère au début et s’est montré sous un meilleur jour après une bonne aération. La bouche est droite, avec une bonne structure, mais il se fait plus rond ensuite, des tanins assez soyeux, dans un style austère, avec une bonne longueur. 91pts
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Deep dark garnet. Slightly transparent rim. Dense and vital! Aromatics of Ripe, Dark Berry Fruits. Fruit in Rum- all in all short on fruit. Fully integrated,showing a lot of secondary and tertiary characters of Tobacco, Earth, Dark Chocolate and Herbs. Beautiful Floral Traces of Roses! Some (Sweet) Vanilla, Eucalypt and Oak. Soft and sweet nose. Integrated and harmonious! Hardly any fruit flavors. Little Fruit in Rum. Interesting play of Earthy Notes , Spices, Tobacco and Leather. Medium bodied with almost fully integrated dusty tannins and hardly any acidity. Lacking density and a little dull on the midpalate, but very approachable and still a joy to drink. Medium-long finish with Warmth and Peppery Spiciness. Harmonious and elegant!
Nice mature, fully integrated St-Julien! Elegant, balanced with medium-complexity. Beautiful aromatics (!), but a little weak on the (mid) palate. See more details at cellartv.wordpress.com
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La Commanderie de Bordeaux - Boston Annual Gala (Somerset Club, Boston): My bad luck with this vigneron continues. This had been decanted for approximately five-plus hours. Deep violet color, but even after double decanting this still threw a ton of sediment. Very barnyard nose (and obviously if you're into that, it gets you excited!). This was served at ten distinct tables out of differing bottles, and eight or nine of them believed it was flawed (the tenth said it was singing beautifully). Many believed this to be corked but I really am not so sure. It just showed very poorly in my view. If you own this, I suppose you either sell for full current market price if you can get it, or heed the suggested CT drinking window and cross your fingers that this will be much more than disappointing in 2020-2025.
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Very austere, took 4-5 hours to bring any fruit forward. Then had some dark fruit, cigar, licorice and cocoa flavors with very mature BDX nose. Unfortunately it was more interesting than enjoyable. The dryness of the palate just never quite made this an "wow" experience. Next time I'll be sure to pair with some steak or lamb to help enhance and balance the wine.
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Double Blind Wine Dinner @ Le Provençal (266 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables, FL): The wine looks Garnet colored. The legs are Slow. It smells like Blackberry, Black currant (cassis), Cedar, Lead Pencil, and Violet. The body is Medium/Full. The wine has Bright texture. The wine finishes Long. Luis' Bordeaux, seems at its peak. One of the best of the night.
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The 1986 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou is dark garnet in colour with a tawny rim. The rather developed nose displayed captivating nuances of dark red cherries, cassis, cedar, cigar box and copper. On the palate, an initial sweetness of dark red cherries and wood dust that progresses to slight spice and herbs of rosemary and tomato leaves.
A medium bodied wine that boasts of a fascinating balance and integration. Good structure yet smooth, elegant and gentle on the palate with its almost powdery tannins. Definitely still has some strength in the wine to give it a good consistent drive without being forceful and rough.
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Tasted in Magnum at a wine club dinner in London last night. The Ducru was up against a Sassaicia '95, Talbot '00 and a Pride Napa Valley '94. As expected, this wine was the most developed, with strong tertiary aromas of cigar box, cedar wood and vegetation. What was slightly disappointing - especially given the format - was that the wine lacked freshness and most of the primary fruit had vanished. Acidity was lower than hoped - perhaps explaining the lack of freshness - although the tannins were fairly well integrated but still noticeable. The mouth feel was excellent, and the finish was decent. Overall, a very good wine.
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Replaced a flawed corked bottle. 90 minute rather than intended two hour decant. Broadly the same robust structure as previous note but with marginally more dark hedge fruit character although flavour finishes a bit lean. Three bottles so far from same case showing a significant variance (1 flawed). Think will take pot luck and work through remaining bottles over the next two or three years unless they show a remarkable improvement. A vintage widely accepted as disappointing for Ducru but I fear exacerbated by a perhaps badly, in the past, stored case. Can't win them all!
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Decanted for 3 hours. Very austere initially, then gained significant weight & depth of flavor 4-5 hours after opening. Really great wine once it opened up. Would recommend decanting for at least 4-5 hours prior to drinking.
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This bottle was unyielding on the nose even after a 2hr decant and on the palate had strappy leathery presence with a hint of vegetal age but lacking in recognisable fruit character. Not sure what to make of this. All blood and guts but signifying not a lot! Seems to have the structure for a further 10yrs ageing, without obvious potential to improve in that period. Given the community score will revisit later in the year to check if this was (hopefully) a deviant/rogue bottle.
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Second bottle consumed in the last two years with consistent notes. The nose on this wine is phenomenal. 1 Hour in the decanter and it's a knockout. Wet maduro cigar wrapper, cigar box, spice box, cedar, cassis, just stunning. The palate is where the let down happens; it's very tannic, drying, astringent, and a touch sour. Unfortunately doesn't match up with the nose at all. 95 point nose, 89 point palate. I settled on 93. Nice wine for the dinner table though.
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Popped & poured, and let it slowly gets ready in the glass - love this. I thought this has already fully matured and will stay at the peak at least few more years. The nose was very composed, mellowed with lots of incense, sweet cinnamon, spices, pepper and stony minerality character in there. On the palate was equally impressive with an arrays of sweet core fruits which including black currants, plums with a pinch of orange peels, cinnamons, dried herbs and mineral flavours that last all the way into its long pleasant finish. Still very fresh thanks to the very good acidity, and has a really nice weighted and balanced mouth feel which those best wines from St Julien always achieved.
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Decanted 3 hours. Still acting like a young wine. Just starting to show the finer points. I am enjoying this now and believe it will improve. Try again in 2015.
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I really quite enjoyed this wine. Our bottle was one of the bunch that was re-bottled at the winery I believe in 2011? Showing lots of power and even a bit of youth, this still has many years ahead left but is drinking very well right now. Outperformed the '98 Latour we had in the same night by a considerable with more of everything: more red fruit, more earth, more flavor, more nose, more complexity, more finish, more presence... the only thing it had less of was its associated cost, and a little less subtlety. Bravo.
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Wine Bash of the Year 2012 (Jade Palace, Forum Galleria): Pretty good, this has improved somewhat from the bottle we had 4 years ago, but still needs quite a bit of time in the bottle. It had a really nice nose, with a drift toasty earth, some meat touches, lots of ripe cassis aromas, and then a nice bit of roasted capsicums and lifted tobacco notes. The palate was still amazingly young, with fine, but tightly grained tannins coiled around a core of clenched cassis and dark berry flavours. While it was still rather primary on the attack, the midpalate was more nuanced, with a touch of spice and tobacco lingering into the finish, where the fresh acidity of the wine really shone through. This was clearly one of those 1986s that seem as though they may never come around. While it certainly had a bit more going on than in the previous outing, it still lacks a bit of complexity. All said, it is pretty good though - it is one to try again in another 5 years' time, though one gets a feeling that 10 years would be closer to the mark. I only hope that the fruit lasts as long as the rather stern structure.
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This bottle disappointed. Looking back at my notes, the only bottle that I enjoyed was at a 1986 Bordeaux tasting on release. I bought 6 bottles after that tasting. I had a bottle on my 40th birthday on 1/2/9/93 and gave it 2/5 stars on the system I used then. Not a very high mark. This recent bottle had no ullage and a perfect cork. Decanted. Tasted immediately and consumed over the course of 6 hours without improvement. Deep purple color with a thin rim of pale ruby at the edge. The nose was restrained but offered some hints of cedar and tobacco. Not much fruit. In the mouth it was bitter, tannic, and unyielding. Not pleasant. I don't think that it's "just young". The bottles that I've had have not impressed. over the course of 20+ years. Interesting that so many others like this... a lot. I wonder if the store that I purchased these from had bottles that were somehow damaged? If this is eventually going to come around, I won't be alive to appreciate it. I think I'll sell what I have.
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Drank over two hours. Should have decanted. Nice big big nose of red fruit, tobacco, cedar and leather. The palate matched with surprising emphasis on the red fruit--at times this seemed jammy. Quite a bit of tannin, an '86 for sure, on the long finish. A nice wine that needs time.
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Very tight, walnut on open. Wine opens wonderfully with two hours of air. Lots of tannin and acidity. Fairly light body. Very classic medium-intensity nose (tobacco, cedar, leather, pencil lead, black fruit). Medium finish. There is no shame in drinking this now (with enough air and appropriate food pairing), though it certainly has lots of life ahead of it.
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Still incredibly young with the fruit very fresh and a powerful tannic spine beneath that's almost overwhelming at first. This softens and becomes a lot more approachable and fragrant with a couple of hours in the decanter, with cedar, tobacco, graphite, leather and rich dark fruited flavours coming together seamlessly. Outstanding, really classical Bordeaux though this really does need a fair bit more time in the cellar.
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It's 50/50 with these Ducru's from this era given issues in their cellars but this was a good, clean bottle. Very much an old-school Bordeaux with a slightly rustic character but the charm and elegance of Ducru can be found lurking under the strong tannins that are finally starting to ameliorate a bit. This wine has depth in the middle and possesses good intensity with flavors of tobacco, spices and charred earth. The acidity is high but overall the wine is balanced and delivers an excellent aged Bordeaux experience. It's just beginning to drink well and good bottles should last indefinitely.
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Yummy, but just on the verge of being corked. Gorgeous, opulent palate, but not much on the nose. Time to drink the bottles in this cellar--a very happy task! Two bottles.
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Two bottles with John & Jenny. Beautifully stored & aged, lovely mature claret; thank God we have lived to see it mature in this way; let's hope all our oenophile friends will get to enjoy it in this wonderful, free, American way.
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86 Bored Oh: Slow ox'd for a few hours then decanted for about 1 hr prior to pouring. Wow was this good. Floral, seductive but well knit. Lovely fruit but always light on its feet. It's a weird mix of classic bordeaux with opulence. Simply a great combo.
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Brown Bag Wine Dinner at Two Chefs; 10/4/2011-10/5/2011 (TWO CHEFS, MIAMI, FL): - Garnet color with fast forming legs and aromas of eucalyptus, tobacco, black currant and cedar. It's in total harmony and has flavours of eucalyptus, black currant and licorice anise with a medium body. Bright texture with a long finish - Barry's wine. My WOTN.
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1986 Bordeaux @ EWS: 1986 Ducru Beaucaillou (St. Julien) (92WA, 95WS) Dark sweet aromatic black cherry with leather and toast.Chewy rich dense sweet big acids, black fruit flavors, simpler finish. Filled with rocks and stones. 92
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Bordeaux night in San Antonio (Home of David B.): Slightly disappointing in this lineup. Cork stained almost to the top—opened just in time. Decanted several hours prior. Rather shy nose, with a slight medicinal note with some stewed fruit. Somewhat austere palate, strikingly tannic, showing a dried red fruit profile with tobacco leaf with a similar flavor profile on a moderate length finish. Seemed somewhat thin and closed even. Too young? Others liked it more than me.
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Opened up after 1.5 hours in the decanter. Nice depth and complexity. Still has tannins to resolve, however a treat to drink right now. No off aromas or TCA.
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Tasted on two occasions within 4 months. A good wine but it lacked the intensity that I expected and I have found this with other 86's except Margaux. It just seemed to be veering towards becoming slightly lean albeit in a refined way. Could not help but feel slightly disappointed; especially with four more left.
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at an offline, still very young, concentrated rustic cab, good fruit/acid balance, tannis still grippy, leave for 10 yrs still, was nicer than the LLC with it
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i tried two bottles, both decant for 1 and 1/2 hour then drink, the 2nd bottles after decanting for 3-4 hours seems be better than at first. Will try to decant more time when I have my third bottle. Nice wine but not great.
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Poivron vert, cuir, tannins encore bien présent, mais intégré. Petite note fumé en finale bien plaisante. Peu être un léger manque de matière que l'on peut s'attendre pour cette appellation. 92.
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Medium ruby with some gentle fading. Classic nose of black fruit, cedar, and a touch of herb. Medium to light weight, crisp, a pleasant touch of austerity and bitterness, but the tannins are well along the way to resolution. Good ripeness but no excess sweetness at all here. Excellent and probably at or close to a plateau that should be long lasting.
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Decanted 2 hours before drinking, by which time the nose had opened up remarkably: warm, rich, cedary, with rich red fruit. Extraordinary in the mouth: full, unctuous, soft tanins, rounded structure; good fruit and gentle spices. Long aftertaste [30 seconds+], leaving a great sense of satisfaction and pleasure. A very fine wine, and I'm sorry I have no more. Good to share it with guests who knew what they were drinking.
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The fill was into the neck and the cork was sound. Opened about 5 hours prior to dinner; no decant, just re-inserted the cork. A murky purpe-ruby core, turning to garnet at the rim. Rather shy on the nose -- a bit disappointing, actually -- reluctantly revealing hints of pencil shavings, dark fruits and crushed rose petal. More impressive on the palate, with fine concentration of fruit, good acidity, classic structure, but some slightly drying and astringent tannins on the finish. Went very well with the Prime dry-aged NY Strip Steaks; this is a wine that positively needs food. It did improve over the course of the evening, and eventually hit its stride about 8 hours after pulling the cork, so it shoud age for many years to come.
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1986 Bordeaux Night @ The Hawksmoor: what a sneaky lady this was, a temptress....bottle gave up a red fruit candy nose, with some grapit. in the mouth it was bright and juicy red fruits, minerals , lead pencil and silky smooth tannins. very long very seductive, perfect balance.really great bottle of ducru. for me it was tied for WOTN with the Palmer and i think this bottle right now gave the first growths a run for their money.
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Decanted each bottle for one hour. Group of 8 tasting. Very smooth and silky. Surprisingly very little sediment. Nose of earthy minerals, ash. Extremely clean, dry finish. Flavor diminishing. Likely past its prime by 2-3 years. Drink now.
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Robe sombre. Je crains une légère déviance à l'ouverture, mais un long carafage arrange les choses. Surgit un vin superbe, racé, à la fois dense, profond et en même temps froid. Une anné chaude sur un terroir froid ? En tous les cas, un vin superbe, encore loin de son apogée.
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1986 Bordeaux in NYC: On the Ducru-Beaucaillou, I got a nose of green banana, black tea, some sweetness. It had the best bouquet of the flight. Awesome on the back-end/finish. Bright acids. Improved with air.
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The last one. As good as the rest. Fully integrated tannins, smooth as silk., little sediment. Dark fruit, some cherry, tobacco, and grilled meat. Drank at Capital Grille. All the waiters and the sommelier stopped by the table. Decanted for 45 min.
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Ducru Vertical (Lam Soon): Savory marmite intermixed with sweet cassis and black/blue fruits….throw in some chocolatey cocoa powder / dry earth too. Very infused and focused (but not sharp) nose that packs a padded punch. I just love the nose on this. Savory “al dente” ripe blackcurrant fruits with good length and staying power. Clean and dry finish.
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Ducru Beaucaillou Vertical (1978, '85, '86, '95 and '96, with a few extras) (Richfield, Lam Soon Building, Singapore): 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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Ducru-Beaucaillou Vertical and a Mystery Wine (Rochester, MN): Classic nose of earth, tobacco and damp earth. Very similar flavor profile to the '85, but showed more acids and tannins consistent with the vintage. I doubt this will evolve further, but it should hold for quite a while.
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Excellent. Cherry fruit with loads of menthol, wood smoke, graphite. Though it certainly has plenty of life left, I'm scheduling my remaining bottle for 2009.
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Drank at KOMI restaurant with the degustazion. Nice balance but still seemed somewhat young to me. Very dark color, inky. Cassis and mint nose with some good licorice and tabacco. A very enjoyable wine that I wish I had more of.
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Still very good color. Classic Ducru nose of tobacco and blackberries with smoky slate. Puzzling at first because it's lighter-bodied and not very tannic especially for an '86 but it improved in the glass for hours and began to show a silky smoothness and real elegance and symmetry. At one point, though, I thought it was slightly corked but that sense blew off over time. After 4 hours, I would say this is a nice Ducru that shows the vineyard's classic elegance and flavors but the soft tannins are slightly astringent and the level of concentration is weak for a Ducru of this age. Still, it paired beautifully with a bbq'd porterhouse. I'll have to try another bottle because there is a chance it was very slightly corked.
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Very nice bottle, elegant, nuanced. Maybe a bit past its peak, but delicious nevertheless. Ruby / dark ruby in color. Layered flavors and nose. Medium bodied with a medium to medium -long finish. Last bottle, but if I had more would be drinking up. Also, this was decanted ... I might try without decanting first to see if it has more power. That said, it did seem to pick up more weight as the night wore on.
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Bad cork, but wine was fortunately unharmed. Decanted for an hour filtered out cork bits. Very smooth wine medium body with balanced fruit, fully integrated as expected for a 20 year old bordeaux. Drink it now. Glad have 4 bottles left to enjoy.
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Well integrated wne. Smooth is a good description that was used before. It doesn't knock you over as a WOW wine but I'm glad that I have 10 left to enjoy.
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No formal notes. I wasn’t as impressed with this wine as some others. I thought the nose of a bit muted and the palate still a bit too tannic. Good Bordeaux but not a “WOW” wine for me.
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Suze Tasting (Suze, Dallas, Texas): This was like being on a classic wooden sailboat on absolutely clear, smooth water on a day that was not too cold or hot. I’ve never actually experienced this, but at least I’ve had this wine. Opened and served immediately, and this was showing very well. I hate to repeat the word “smooth” too often, but this wine was incredibly smooth with sophisticated red fruit flavors present but not overwhelming. My WOTN. 91-96
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Graciously provided by wine + art at our recent offline at Kiki's Bistro. Decanted for about an hour before we dove in . An unapologetically masculine and powerful wine, with buzzsaw intesnity. I enjoyed the dark fruits and muscular finish. Not showing much in terms of secondary characteristics yet, but plenty of tannins to support such potential. I think the future is in front of this wine and would recommend holding for another 5+ years.
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With Wine + Art, Otis, and W+A's friend Chris. Dark color, deep nose. Big deep wine, qujite fruity with a very solid core. IMO this is a great wine. I'd like to think that a few more years will allow it to really shine, but I'm concerned that the fruit may fade allowing the tannin to come out. I think this drinks great right now, so why not drink it up? If I had a bunch I'd start drinking them every 6 months from now. If I only had one I'd wait a 2-5 years to try again.
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Beautiful brick red colour. Nose a bit muted. Very concentrated flavour, delicate. Nice finish but not as good as you would expect from initial impression on palate. This vintage (and others) was plagued by duff bottles: this was one of the better bottles I have had.
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7/99 (Tasting): Group did not care for..as most of 86's. Seemed hard, and not well-balanced. As with other 86's at this age, I think too young. 7/05: Now a classic Bordeaux. Not as elegant as some, but now drinking well. Still lacks elegance one might have anticipated. Also unlike 86's, not clear additional time will benefit this wine.
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Tasted at an off-line in London with BirDungy and cbmac. Even darker than the '86 Pape-Clement. A seriously deep nose of cassis, black raspberry, and menthol. Smooth and sleek with well-syncopated fruit coursing through to a long finish. This wine was really showing well, but the gripping tannins on the finish and the abundance of fruit suggest that it could easily handle more cellar time. 93P and my WOTN.
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4/15/2024 - Cycling Rick wrote:
Not good, color was somewhat brown
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4/12/2024 - jviz wrote: 94 Points
When it’s on, it’s on. I’ve only had the 89 (and a damaged 88) in the past, but this bottle was reconditioned at the chateau in 11 and to me shows more 86’ character than any other I’ve had from the vintage. Searing tannins slam the gate on an otherwise generous wine! This particular bottle was impressively fresh, and blind guesses centered in 98-01. Partly this owed to the color showing surprisingly youthful. It was also especially red fruited and bricked. More than a little educational.
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3/8/2024 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
A soft core of energies fruit. And still with the structure to it. More full with fruit character. So good.
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1/26/2024 - Philip_Bundpropperne Likes this wine: 96 Points
Rating: 4,6/5,0.
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12/30/2023 - mckillop Likes this wine:
Was enjoyed with a slow roasted leg of lamb on Christmas Eve. It was amazingly fresh and lively (which I had not expected).
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12/14/2023 - rocknroller wrote: flawed
CdB Committee Meeting: corked
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12/9/2023 - LW31 Likes this wine:
Reconditioned bottle. Excellent St Julien. Very classic profile but with a surprising depth of fruit fruit and character. Nice with beef, of course
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12/7/2023 - CWilliam wrote: 94 Points
Un-named Atlanta Wine Tasting Group - High End Reds; 12/7/2023-12/10/2023 (Beebe House): Wine #1 in blind tasting of 7 "high-end" red wines paired with grilled NY Strips and Grilled Beef Filet Mignon.
Black in the glass - looked much younger than a wine from '86 (guessed 2000-2005 left Bank Bordeaux). Great nose - tobacco, graphite, leather, blackberry and cassis. Palate had similar flavor profile. Full body, medium acidity and fine, grainy tannins with a very long finish. Beautiful wine. My #3 out of 7 and group's #4 of 7. Loved this. Had a 1/4 glass the next evening and still going strong.
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9/12/2023 - Lipsman wrote: 92 Points
Quite a different bottle from two years ago when it was vibrant and fresh. This is fully brick colored throughout, tastes fully mature and on the cusp of cracking up. Still good, but that Madeira is lurking in the background. Complex and full bodied this Ducru just pulls it off. Decanting not recommended. I’ll be looking to serve the remaining bottles sooner than later. This was recorked at the chateau in 2011.
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9/3/2023 - fredb Likes this wine:
Decanted off moderate amount of fine sediment and crust on side of bottle interior. Medium brick red color. Aromas of dusty plum and cherry with some cedar and leather notes lurking. Palate is on the dusty side with cedar, plum, smoke and some leathery/meaty notes that carry into a medium-short finish. Gets broader in the decanter over 3+ hours but overall seems past prime for my tastes. Drink.
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8/27/2023 - Decanting Queen wrote: flawed
I left this one a few more days to see if the mustiness would blow off, but can confirm this was unquestionably corked. Such a shame as the underlying elements promised a wonderful wine.
For whatever it’s worth, this was the only one of my bottles that was not reconditioned at the chateau it 2011. Although the bottle and cork looked in ok condition, the bottle lived up to the unfortunate reputation of that time period. The reconditioned bottles have been fantastic
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8/27/2023 - Mark1npt wrote: flawed
Bummer....was really looking forward to this one but there was a musty start to it that never really left and maybe even got a tad worse toward the end. I did drink a fair amount of it because the fruit was still so dark and strong and good, but it was just off.
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8/3/2023 - ankitmehra Likes this wine: 95 Points
Coming from a bottle that was recorked at the château, this bottle was in unbelievable shape. The fruit was fully intact on a very aromatic nose that was packed with a medley of redcurrants, leather and tobacco. The palette itself was extremely complex, as redcurrants and licorice dominated before an extremely herbaceous mid-palette also brought in spices and meatiness. Interestingly enough, by the last glass, there were hints of cassis on the finish, accompanied by tannins that felt extremely sharp for the age of the wine. A great Ducru-Beaucaillou that was drinking a lot younger than it was.
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7/11/2023 - paulst Likes this wine: 90 Points
Little corked; textured and depth; decent but a bit off.
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7/8/2023 - jkwoodward Likes this wine: 93 Points
Recorked. Excellent nose. Punching above the palate. Still some time left.
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6/7/2023 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
With a touch of mental and then quite lovely and fine.
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4/15/2023 - BHRH Likes this wine: 91 Points
from magnum, not re-corked. Cork was totally saturate, but whole. Ulage low shoulder. Decanted 30 minutes prior to serving - lots of fine sediment. Slightly orange rim, but solid color once poured into glass. A waft of classic mature BDX - more red than black fruits with lots of herbs and garrigue. Medium-bodied and somewhat plush on the palate - savory but not harsh structure. Medium-to-long, complex finish with some tobacco, earth, with a hint of brown sugar and cassis. More pleasurable to drink alone than with food, although a filet mignon might be perfect (our grilled lamb chops were not the best fit for this wine).
A lovely wine, but I can;t imagine this improving - so recommend drink soon!
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4/13/2023 - lifebreath Likes this wine: 92 Points
Recorked at château in 2011. A beautiful wine with elegance and charm, but I find it hard to reconcile the 95+ scores with the wine. It has all the qualities one would like from an aged Bordeaux, just not as much in the matter of degree! It lacks the fullness, body and finish that would put it into that higher echelon. For me, it gets a solid A, but not an A+.
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4/13/2023 - Chrysostomus wrote: flawed
cork
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4/9/2023 - ONEFIVE Likes this wine:
Subtle on the nose - dried red fruit and a touch of earth.
Darker fruit profile on the palate with medium body, med+ acidity, and med+ tannin.
This is drinking nicely but I doubt it was ever really epic of a wine. Lots of astringent qualities that seemingly has not settled out.
It’ll go another 10 years but the fruit will fade.
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4/7/2023 - eswinstead Likes this wine: 95 Points
Still in great shape and some road ahead of it. Not one of the re-corked bottles, but in excellent condition. Exactly what we’d hoped for and increasingly expressive over three and a half hours. Earthy, gamey, and increasingly a flinty minerality and some band-aid. A touch thin on the palate, as someone noted previously, but it’s in hair-splitting territory. Excellent, excellent.
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4/4/2023 - Cgftcb wrote:
Unbelievable for an 86 at this age, still with an amazing earthy nose followed by a surprisingly full balance. A touch thin on the back but fill the mouth for long enough.
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4/2/2023 - Brolawa wrote:
N2. Drank at Cimarron. Possibly elevation-affected.
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3/30/2023 - hhyder Likes this wine: 97 Points
Beautiful complex nose followed by a balanced taste profile. This was a bottle that was recorded at the Chateau in 2011 after 25 years in their cellar. Color was bright and while tannins were resolved, they were still present. This wine should go at peak for at least another 5+ years but why wait! Everything you want Bordeaux to be.
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2/21/2023 - kevinpatrick Likes this wine:
Pre-1996 Blind Napa vs Bordeaux (Ducru, Heitz, Abreu, Cos d'Estournel, Cask 23 & more) (Charlotte, NC): Double decent 6 hours in advance, recorked within 30 minutes and then slow-ox for 60 minutes before serving. Purchased ex-chateau and was recorked in 2011. There was no sediment on the decant and an explosive nose when opened. The nose remained wonderfully aromatic with rich dark fruits highlighted by cassis. The nose was confirmed on the palate and this wine was a delight: richly textured, ample dark fruits, fully integrated tannins. A wine elegantly balancing primary and secondary notes with restrained power. Medium+ fruit driven finish. A wine I would enjoy all night if this was the only option. Third place overall for WOTN.
5 guesses for Bordeaux, 3 for Napa. My guess: 1986 Ducru.
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2/13/2023 - sh6k Likes this wine: 96 Points
PnP: It’s over the hill — nearly all the fruit is gone — would have liked to get it 5-10 years ago. That said, I love it madly. There’s something I can’t put my finger on where it’s so full of life and energy — electric, great acidity, crazy long finish. Translucent purple with light browning on the edges. Nose is pretty closed. Palate is butter and light oxidation and nearly-burned toast and tobacco and the forest floor with beautiful mellow acidity and mint. Lots of fine tannins. Finish is more of same, super long.
And again: life affirming energy.
Day 2 (stored in wine squirrel) — some cassis is here now, and the tobacco etc is less noticeable. After 10 minutes of air and vigorous swirling in the glass, the “over the hill” nose is cleared out and it’s … not young but seems like a well-kept 37 year old wine. Still the same beautiful long long finish. If I’m being honest, a little less of the magical life affirming energy. But yknow in its place a beautifully balanced wine.
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1/24/2023 - Purple Tooth wrote: 92 Points
Lean and elegant, this is a classic Bordeaux that comes from the mediocre days. I believe that 1996 was really the turning point for this producer and while the older wines are still good, with some exception (1990) they are just classic and rather expensive for what they are. This has lots of cedar, unsmoked tobacco, and tart red fruit that is anchored in a nice package of tannins and acidity. This has nowhere left to go but is still rock solid. Drink
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1/23/2023 - richshoes Likes this wine: 92 Points
a little disappointing relative to price and how long I waited to have it...delicate wine that still has a medium/good body to it...bright and linear...
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1/9/2023 - zimmy07 wrote:
same as last note, slight VA... shame!
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12/26/2022 - Vinnut Likes this wine: 95 Points
Deep, dark garnet in color with ever-so-slight clearing at the edges. Full, forward & fragrant nose of ripe fruit aromas of cherries, blueberries, & cassis with classic cigar box overtones of tobacco & cedar, floral notes of violets, earthy/dusty, leather, coffee grounds, pepper, dark cocoa, herbs, spices, mint & a hint of minerals & graphite in the background. Medium-full bodied with a very good concentration of well balanced & smooth textured, complex, ripe fruit flavors of sweet dark cherries, cranberries & pomegranate with truffles, dark cocoa, coffee, herbs, minerals and hints of oak. Lingering smooth finish. Drinks quite well at present & at 36 years of age, it is approaching its peak but should be able to continue its development with a few more additional years of aging. Fill was at lower neck level above shoulder; cork was clean & intact.
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12/24/2022 - silhouette88 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted 2 hours.
Aroma: cassis, graphite, earth, blackberries, peppercorn and menthol.
Palate: smoked meats, savory notes, silky, soft tannins with a very long finish. Excellent structure! Delicious pairing with a standing rib roast with sautéed mushrooms, mashed potatoes + gravy and sautéed summer squash. This one is still magnificent on day 2. What an exquisite Bordeaux! 93-94
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12/18/2022 - mbesche Likes this wine: 94 Points
At the top of its drinking window.
Decanted an hour before serving, never got tired
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12/18/2022 - joseduca Likes this wine: 94 Points
Argentina is World Champ in Qatar. Boom!
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12/17/2022 - MrBrege wrote: 94 Points
One of the reconditioned bottles from the chateau, very pretty in fact, with a new label and all. This is the way to enjoy mature Bordeaux! No risk of misfire. A truly classic wine this, still fairly deep colour with just marginal bricking. Earthy old cellar and leather on the nose, the balance is great and the fruit mostly noticeable on the mid palate. Tannins almost fully resolved but still present, I think this will last at least another 5 years.
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12/12/2022 - MikePemulis Likes this wine: 93 Points
Balanced and drinking well. Finish a bit short on first opening but after about a 1.5 hr decant it came more into its own. Recorked reamining 1/3 bottle and it was still going nicely the next night.
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11/23/2022 - zimmy07 wrote:
Slight to medium VA, fruit was in great balance. but distracting..
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11/20/2022 - ayalao3 wrote: 95 Points
Tasted in a lineup that included 2015, 2009, 1986, and 1982. The 1986 was the weakest, probably had some slight VA that was distracting. Tried another bottle and was fresher. Similar in style to 1982, at the same evolution state. Less elegant.
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11/12/2022 - cshouston wrote: flawed
Corked
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10/23/2022 - Cailles wrote: flawed
This was badly corked.
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10/15/2022 - GlobalNomadGuy Likes this wine: 96 Points
We decanted the wine 4 hours plus gave it some time in the glass before it became the great wine it is. On the nose, there was raspberry, menthol and a tiny bit of tar. On the palate, there was a tart cranberry, pomegranate, tobacco and a hint of cedarwood. Almost all of my collection and tasting experience is based on California reds of vintage 2010 or later, so it was a real experience to taste a 36 year old French Bordeaux wine with such different characteristics. We paired this gem with a homemade veggie pasta whose sauce’s primary ingredient was roasted tomatoes. The pairing was absolutely perfect. Note that shaved Parmesan’s umami taste profile alongside this wine is a culinary grand slam. I do recommend giving this wine at least another decade before enjoying, but don’t forget the pasta.
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10/13/2022 - CellarBord Likes this wine: 91 Points
Developing; coarse and complex; noticeable tannin; supple blackberry; scratchy finish.
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6/1/2022 - graemeg wrote:
NobleRottersSydney - top 80s Bdx with Rhone ringers (Fix, St James, Sydney): {cork, 12.5%} [Gordon] I gotta say, this smelt a bit TCA-musty right from the start. It never got worse, but never cleaned up either. Soft old leather flavours, but always with a cardboard tinge. Light/medium weight, mirror-smooth in texture, somewhat scalped finish. Re-reading notes from 2018 and 2015 this seemed the least of the three, but I think this is probably at the end of its drinking window at any rate. Definitely showing sub-par tonight.
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5/7/2022 - PghMike wrote: 95 Points
One of the ones rebottled in 2011. Bricking at the edges but still a deep purple base. Just kept on improving through the evening even after a 3 hour decant.
Very nice nose with floral notes, menthol, black plum and forest after a rain shower. Doesn't "leap from the glass" but certainly not muted either - and it just kept opening up with time. Just a little lighter than than full body. Dark fruit at the core but resolving into wild blackberry with a little tang. Excellent long finish.
Paired with a massive bone in ribeye which was actually an excellent pairing. The tannins and acidity can hold up with this one even at 36 years.
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4/20/2022 - RobinTeo Likes this wine:
While 1986 DB had an record of TCA, this came from a case that was released from Chateau in 2019. Decanted for 2.5 hours and drank first in the line up. Dark amber around the rims. Classic bordeaux bouquet showing dark fruit, earth and licorice. Plums, dark cherries and sage show up first on the palate, leading to pencil, leather and cedar on the finish. Tannins integrated and medium acidity - characteristic of the vintage I was told.
This is everything you want in a mature Bordeaux. Perhaps unfair to have this next to the 1986 Haut Brion, the difference in quality was night and day. Started to go downhill after 4 hours which was a little alarming.
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2/25/2022 - LW31 Likes this wine:
still fresh and lovely, pretty classic St Julien. Nothing too big or overdone here, a zip of acidity like many '86s. Good bottle only just starting to emerge.
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2/5/2022 - Peech Likes this wine: 91 Points
drank 1 hour after decanting. A little grassy, some smoke along with grilled meats, and perhaps a little brett. Still got tannins, which was pretty amazing consider the age. Pretty fragrant nose, with some savory black tea and tapenade when opened up. Not as much fruit as I was expecting.
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11/19/2021 - Lipsman wrote: 98 Points
A magnificent bottle, part of a tranche that was recorked at the château in 2011. The deeply complex flavors needed 2-3 hours after decanting to unfurl. Enticing aromas followed by a flavor profile that unwinds plums, licorice, and dark macerated cherries over your palate. Big but balanced. Even smoother the next day. Highly recommended.
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11/16/2021 - 559Cheers Likes this wine: 96 Points
1st night, accurate and precise left bank nose with depth. Full, rich and expressive. Very beautiful and accurate definition of left bank. Multi-dimensional left bank depth. Just opened 5 minutes ago. See how this develops. Meaty, cedar, graphite pencil, leather on the palette.
When first opened and first sip, I thought a little faded. That soon develops into something with depth and substance, just needed to open up and develop.
*3rd night still very exciting and drinking good.
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10/17/2021 - Francophile1 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Tasted blind. Bottle reconditioned at the Chateau in 2011. It definitely shows the '86 vintage character... rustic, smoky, iron/beef blood, tobacco, cedar. It also shows its signature leanness that you would expect from St. Julien. Others called it '86 Leoville Las Cases. Decanted 2 hours prior to consumption.
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10/2/2021 - cct wrote: 95 Points
Double decanted in the AM for sediment. Drunk over a few hours.
Violets, cassis, dark cherry fruit, baking chocolate and wet bricks on the nose. This is structured, deep and the palate, with more of the same fruit, lavender, and cool herbal and ferrous undertones added to what the nose showed. This is detailed, deep, and drinking at youthful peak. A wine of power and poise. Pretty terrific tonight and with a long future. 95
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9/9/2021 - Peech wrote: flawed
a little grassy, slightly corked, still some fruit on the palate. More than an hour after decanting, the grassy nose was still there but the palate was fine. Very smooth and silky.
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9/4/2021 - Hanibal Likes this wine: 94 Points
This bottle was ON... nose and length paired well. On its plateau and did not show much advanced aging. Really enjoyed this. Worth opening at this stage.
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8/12/2021 - RayOB wrote: 93 Points
Drank at 67
This was a reconditioned bottle au Chateau in 2011.
Young, rich and showing lots of fruit.
Amazing how much difference the reconditioning makes.
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6/26/2021 - Racer117 Likes this wine: 94 Points
A great showing of this. Bottle was recorked at chateau in '11.
Youthful color; exquisite nose of cedar, dark berry, earth, funk; med. to fuller body with flavors of berry, plum, and spices.
Thanks to Lisa for opening.
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6/24/2021 - PC99 wrote: 95 Points
A bit of orange peel. Fresh and aromatic but only opens up in 2 hours. A bit smoky, tobacco, tea leaves. Wonderful wine! Will buy more at this time.
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6/20/2021 - NickBurwood Likes this wine: 93 Points
Father's day dinner. Used my Coravin to check the status of these two bottles from Ducru's problem era. Both were perfect and for all purposes identical so given an aerated decant together for 45 mins with the decanter immediately stoppered.
My 2019 note says it all (even the cork reference x 2!) so I repeat it verbatim below:
"Split cork.
Deep red/brown aged appearance. Plenty of smoke and truffle on the nose. Concentrated brulé damson and dark berries. Charred oak, earth, integrated tannins and an elegant balancing acidity without the green capsid element of many earlier noted bottles from this batch. Brooding velvety finish. Outstanding."
For drinking over the next 4yrs or so - but caveat emptor!
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6/4/2021 - Eriklainen wrote:
At Matbaren. Cedar, flowers (white). Boysenberries. Nose is just superb. Balance is really quite good although I would have wished for some more weight in the fruit. Think the MR has the edge in that respect. Nonetheless - a really majestic wine that hardly shows any signs of unpleasant ageing
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5/31/2021 - RockinCabs wrote: 95 Points
Just one glass from a 6L served at Englishmans_clarets wedding. This was a beautifully crafted wine with blackberry, boysenberry, morello cherry and cedar notes. Bit of spice and leather round it out. A very classic middle weighted wine that expresses the château well. Each time I encounter the 86 it has a remarkable imprint.
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5/30/2021 - englishman's claret wrote: 95 Points
Wonderfully complex and mellow, even from 6L, showing a beautiful, medium-intensity mixed berry, loam, ginger, and cedar nose. The aromatic components have melded so smoothly- there are no seams here! 94-95
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5/17/2021 - Peech Likes this wine: 91 Points
opened not long before serving. Much more savory, with sweet grass notes typical of a St. Julien. Very smooth by now.
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3/18/2021 - Richard P Howden Likes this wine: 91 Points
March 18 Zoom Group: Rich nose with soft red fruit and lots of earthy tobacco over a nicely dense palate with more red fruit, earth, red pepper. More integrated than other wines tonight, very enjoyable showing. Initially showed a little funk - cork? - that blew off but makes me wonder if this was a bit muted because of it.
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3/18/2021 - aagrawal wrote: 90 Points
Dinner with the wine group (Zoom): Tasted blind. Medium-deep ruby with minimal bricking; aromatic, plummy, purple fruited; palate is full bodied, medium acidity, medium alcohol, again fruit is more purple to black rather than red, flavors a bit clipped through the midpalate and the medium-minus finish. Very nice, possibly some low level TCA but it's showing so much I'm not sure. I will rate it, but I'm not sure it's 100%. 90
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2/25/2021 - glassofhans Likes this wine: 94 Points
Needs abit of decanting, still very vibrant, silky texture
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1/2/2021 - ilee Likes this wine: 94 Points
How interesting: a 1986 vintage bordeaux, rebottled by the chateau in 2011 and looks like new. I've never seen such a thing. The wine itself comes out young looking too, dark like the color of crushed blackberries, with not a glint of amber. The nose is rich with notes of cassis, spicebox, soy and the viscous hoisin sauce that comes with roast-duck pancakes. Medium bodied on the palate, the wine is light on its feet, with delicious fulsome dark berry layers and a tannic edge. Compared to the 1986 Gruaud Larose, this wine is on the younger side, and does not quite have the depth, length and subtle creamy edge of its grown-up neighbor. But folks who own this can wait 5-10 more years to see if time might work some magic.
P.S. This was the last hurrah of the holidays; 'tis now the season to detox. Write again in Feb.
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12/31/2020 - stevegpg Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted about 30 minutes in the glass, then poured from bottle over 90 minutes or so. First sip showed strong dark fruit and Smokey, earthy flavors. Mellowed a bit over the dinner, but still showed great concentration and fruit. Served with rib eye, prepared in cast iron skillet. Last of my two bottles, well worth the price. Probably has another 2-3 years of really good drinking left.
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12/26/2020 - Radders12345 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Rebottled at the Chateau in 2011 and in absolutely perfect condition. Opened, poured and allowed to slow oxidise over several hours.
Nose: Szechuan spice, plum sauce and a delicious savoury note are the first things to hit me. Not going to lie this smells like a luxurious Chinese dish!
Palate delivers on the nose. Wonderfully complex, savoury. Good acidity and resolved tannins. All wonderfully in balance with a lovely long finish.
There seem to be mixed reviews of this out there but this Chateau rebottling was faultless and delicious.
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12/25/2020 - bgdau wrote: flawed
Lightly corked
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12/24/2020 - starkravingmad Likes this wine: 89 Points
pleasingly smooth and light, but well past it's prime - only a small hint of berry flavors left. Decanted for five hours.
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12/12/2020 - Peech Likes this wine: 94 Points
lovely smoky and woodsy notes, with a hint of coffee, some plum, and leather. Smooth on the palate with good acidity. Just beautifully fragrant 15 minutes after decanting. 2½ hours later showing really well with mint and a little more earthy notes. Tannins much more obvious after aeration. Still got plenty of life left.
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11/29/2020 - rpenn77 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Pleasant mature Bordeaux. I would drink up as I don't see it getting any better.
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10/24/2020 - Decanting Queen Likes this wine: 95 Points
I had the pleasure of drinking this wine at a Ducru virtual event alongside a 1975, 1982, 1986, 1996, 2008, and 2019. We were outside and a late thunderstorm destroyed my notes, so I have only notes the bottles here that came out of my personal cellar, and am going from vague memory.
Amongst all those great vintages, the 1986 was our wine of the night. It was so fresh and open, yet complex and layered. Integrated with perfectly smooth tannins and a lingering finish. Sad about losing my notes on this one, but my husband kept saying it reminded him of a campfire (in a good way).
One thing we learned that night is many of the pre-1990 bottles were reconditioned and recorked at the chateau. Tested for TCA and Brett and then topped up with same vintage under nitrogen. The label on this bottle indicated that it had been reconditioned in 2011. I have a few bottles left with one bottle that appears not be be recorked etc, so it will interesting to compare.
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10/24/2020 - Sean Tay Likes this wine: 95 Points
Wet forest, mushroom, spices, toast, cedar box, hay, banyard, tobacco. Garnet in color. Medium+ acidity and medium tannin. Can aged further and improve, but already in good drinking window.
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10/3/2020 - dnnk88 Likes this wine: 92 Points
CC Bday Wine Dinner 2020!: See earlier notes. This bottle was drinking fresh tonight. 92/93
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9/22/2020 - dnnk88 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Catch Up @ Bruno's!: Cassis, musky, earthy. Classic matured Bordeaux. This is drinking well. I would open up sooner than later.
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9/8/2020 - Jumbo-Jet Likes this wine: 96 Points
Directly out of the bottle beautiful scent of raspberries, vanilla, porridge, old oak, cedarwood, tar and flintstones.
On the palate light and elegant with a faint but distinct glow of warm fruit, a substantial dry tannin parade, very weak bitter notes and a pleasant old oak, old world aftertaste. All in perfect harmony, no sharp edges. On day 2 in the nose even more refined with layered wood aromas, slightly less fruit and a profound tar base. On the palate just as good as on day 1, with a just slightly reduced warmth.
The major experience with this wine is it's outstanding consistency. What you smell is what you taste and what you smell and taste after opening is what you smell and taste on day 2. This is honest stuff – an enticingly elegant old school experience.
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8/7/2020 - gothamfreerider Likes this wine: 96 Points
34 years later, tannins have become silky smooth. I can only imagine how powerful the tannins were at bottling. The smooth structure sets up perfect background for smoked cherry & espresso notes. Quintessential long length of good aged st julien. Maybe lucky bottle, but wasn’t far from complexity of ‘82. Fantastic!
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7/29/2020 - ccn wrote: 89 Points
Strongly marked by acidity in the first hour which unbalanced the wine. This settled down after a while (we should have decanted from the beginning) but the wine never fully opened up. Not sure if it was bottle variation.
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7/4/2020 - dnnk88 Likes this wine: 93 Points
SS's Frenchie! Wine Night: Classic Ducru
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6/20/2020 - bgdau Likes this wine: 95 Points
Earthy and wonderful. Plum blackberry and mushroom notes. Prime age. Paired well with bistro steak and pomme frites
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3/14/2020 - AudunG wrote: 93 Points
Lovely old and classy Medoc aromas. Cool and Pauillac like in the beginning. Later more floral St. Julien / Margaux aromas. Still a lot of fruit and structure, but the floral aroma is ruling here, and is what makes the wine.
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2/10/2020 - J o e wrote: 95 Points
12.5% ABV. Looking more like a 10- or 15-year old wine, the 1986 Ducru-Beaucaillou gives off powerful notes of cassis, black pipe tobacco, toasted walnuts, graphite, mint and cedar. Medium- to full-bodied on the palate, with plenty of dark fruits, earth, red berries and minerals. Really fans out on the long, complex finish, with gentle grip and persistence that lingers long after the wine is swallowed. A wonderful, classic Bordeaux that is drinking very well today. Other than one stupendous bottle of the 1982 consumed ~ 10 years ago, this particular bottle was as good as any Ducru I’ve tasted from the 80’s. Great stuff! 95.
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2/9/2020 - kwarning8@gmail.com Likes this wine: 95 Points
Bought 6 in 1989 and stored well. This was my 5th. Double decanted for 1 hour and terrific at once.
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1/26/2020 - Aleks Che Does not like this wine: 89 Points
Recorked and too young and simple
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1/12/2020 - curtr Likes this wine: 91 Points
Decanted 1 hr. Earthy, drank well for an additional 1.5 hours and then started to fade. Still a fine wine.
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12/21/2019 - mflesh wrote: 94 Points
Nose of aged Bordeaux, smoke, leather, a bit of a Brett influence. But under that was certainly still a bit of black cherry although definitely on the faded side. The entry of this wine is tobacco and cigar and worn saddle leather. A little bit of clove and a little bit of fig. Integrated cedar tannin finish. Really neat wine in a nice spot. IMO definitely a bit over the hill but not done. If you have these, it is time to start drinking on 'em.
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12/18/2019 - Peech wrote: flawed
Served 1½ hours after decanting. Smoky with a hint of grass. Actually it was TCA and the wine was lightly corked. Some graphite and mint, leather. Pretty nice after 3 hours when the wine has fully opened up, and the TCA faded into the background.
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12/14/2019 - weinmatt Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very tertiary. Glad we won the Ducru lottery.
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10/4/2019 - Ellen5181 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Just lovely. Writing from memory this evening.
Opened and decanted at restaurant. A bit of funky nose to start where we weren’t totally sure if we got a good one....
Funk blew off within a few minutes and it only kept getting better. Delicious. Everything was balanced and integrated. Easy to drink. Smooth, velvety, fresh and alive. I guess I haven’t had too many (good) older Bordeaux so I can only say what it wasn’t. Didn’t taste dusty or musty. Tannins nor alcohol stood out in a detracting way. Fruit was still fresh tasting, ripe, sweet, not watery, but muted in a pleasant way. Medium acidity. I didn’t really notice developed secondary flavors, just about lovely subtle red and sweet black fruit, and earthiness. I wouldn’t have imagined this was a 33 yr old wine. It was lovely to the last drop. It tasted fresh but muted reflecting its maturity.
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9/14/2019 - Peech Likes this wine: 92 Points
first bottle was served more than 1½ hours after decanting. Smoky with a slight hint of vegetal green. Classic Saint-Julien. Really opened up after 2½ hours in the decanter. Always a pleasure to drink this wine. Second bottle was served after more than 1½ hours in decanter.
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9/8/2019 - NickBurwood Likes this wine: 93 Points
Outstanding bottle from this highly variable case. Decanted for 2hrs. Split cork.
Deep red/brown aged appearance. Plenty of smoke and truffle on the nose. Concentrated brulé damson and dark berries. Charred oak, earth, integrated tannins and an elegant balancing acidity without the green capsid element of many earlier noted bottles from this batch. Brooding velvety finish. Outstanding.
From Ducru's pot luck period - till 2025 if you hit the right bottle. Always have a sub at the ready! 93+
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7/22/2019 - Norwegian Commandeur Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted for 30 minutes. Dusty nose. Fantastic, integrated taste. Very smooth, cassis, cedar and dark fruit.
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6/29/2019 - studleytrey Likes this wine: 92 Points
What a treat. Perfectly aged and singing tonight. Got this as an anniversary gift for my wife's aunt and uncle a few years ago and held it (they don't have a cellar) and finally found a time to share it (with some anniversary vintage wines of ours).
Transparent garnet with bricked edges. Aromas of cinnamon, red hot candies, cedar, old chest, dried red fruits, and orange peel. Medium body, acid, and medium (+) finish, with flavors of spicy red fruits, and orange and lemon citrus. Perfectly aged and delicious. 91-92
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6/9/2019 - BostonSteve Likes this wine: 95 Points
I hadn’t had a 1986 Ducru in over a decade. At 33 years of age and having plenty of time on my hands tonight I was a little hesitant to decant so decided to wait it out instead if need be and we popped and poured from magnum bottle format. Cork was intact but drying out. It began to crumble when it was pulled and I had to work a bit to get it out in pieces. No signs of leaking or seepage though. Beautiful nose of tobacco and dark fruit aromas. On the palate cedar and leather flavors dominated. Finished nice and long. Wow! Really loved this bottle. If you get your hands on a properly stored bottle I believe it to be underrated here to me. After about 2-3 hours this was showing so beautifully and lasted without fading for over 5 hours until it was gone. No harm, no foul but in hindsight I would have used a decanter. I have one more magnum in the cellar and will decant an hour or so when I open it but I’m not in any rush to drink my last one. I dont believe there’s much room for improvement with time here and I have no 750’s but at least in magnum I’m confident this will go at peak quite a few more years.
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6/1/2019 - Wine Canuck wrote: flawed
A Spring Saturday at Dave's Place: Corked.
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5/26/2019 - ZaphodB Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very nice maturity, but still with nice fruit. Mouthfeel is full bodied, powerful, mature, with quite prominent tannins.
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5/25/2019 - GJVines Likes this wine: 86 Points
Very interesting experience. Decanted to remove sediment, cork was crumbly. Decent but very subdued nose. Nice complexity of flavors but an unfamiliar taste component that was off-putting to me and prevented this from being a totally enjoyable experience.
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5/8/2019 - dream Likes this wine: 92 Points
A perfectly clean bottle of this which was re-bottled at the Chateau in 2011. Lean style with a savory texture and earthy flavors with notes of cedar box and smoky faded dark fruits. Finishes silky smooth but lacks great complexity. Still, a lovely mature bottle of Claret for drinking now and over the next 10 years.
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5/6/2019 - englishman's claret wrote: 94 Points
Loads and loads of saddle leather, sandalwood, redcurrant, and a pop of ginger at the end. Still lots of oak on the palate; grippy. This is probably not quite at its apogee yet. Chateau-recorked stock.
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4/22/2019 - dnnk88 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Cassis, black fruits, earthy, musky aroma. Tasted black fruits, berries, cedar, mint, gravel, stones. Long warm, mint leaves, gravel, bitter finish; slightly dry. You can taste the terroir and the precision and the seriousness. No edges; you can taste the maturity but the energy is still there. Fine example of a St Julien. Class act. Best for the night, opened alongside Opus One 1987. Pop now.
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2/16/2019 - lockestep Likes this wine: 93 Points
AG has noted significant bottle variation in these, happily this was one of the bottles not affected by taint. Slow-ox for an hour and then poured. Obvious this was alive from the first. Classic old Bordeaux, well developed, still some secondary elements in play. Drink or hold, doubt any near-term decline but also doubt significant improvement from this stage.
Hopefully your bottles will be as good as this one.
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1/25/2019 - Derek Darth Taster Likes this wine: 93 Points
Tasted blind. At Chateau Davyd belated Bday Bordeaux celebration.
Appearance is clear, medium intensity, ruby colour with garnet rim. Legs.
Nose is clean, medium+ intensity, with aromas of cedar, grilled bell peppers, black cherries, blackberries, leather, dusty earth. Developed.
On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium- alcohol (12.5%), silky integrated high tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of tobacco leaf, cedar, sweet grilled bell peppers, blackberries, black cherries, blackcurrant, leather, earth. Long finish.
Very good quality. I was guessing St. Julien, but 1990s and not 1986! Wow this was still going strong throughout the night even after 2 hours of air. Balanced now. A fine fine drink.
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1/19/2019 - LWI wrote: flawed
1986 Left Bank Bordeaux: Cork. A pity, obviously a very fine wine beneath.
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1/17/2019 - GuWin wrote: flawed
Bordeaux 1986 Stock, Oslo: Støvete duft, solbær og et snev av eucalyptus, og - kork :-(
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1/11/2019 - dream Likes this wine: 93 Points
A great showing for this wine which was opened and double-decanted for 4 hours and it needed it. All the classic elegance and complexity of this great Chateau in a tightly coiled package with notes of dark spices and sweet graphite rocks on the finish. Rebouche 2011 so a reconditioned bottle.
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12/31/2018 - oldwines Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted at 3:30pm and tasted until gone around 9pm. The wine was lightly tinged brick on the edge but overall looked good for it’s 32 years with a translucent medium to dark garnet color. The nose was a joy to smell and I could have been happy just smelling this all night. There was chocolate, tobacco, blackberry, tea and a complex array of floral notes. The tannins were fully resolved and the wine was smooth and silky in your mouth. Despite the flavors more or less reflecting those in the nose on the palate it was just a bit less expressive and finished with an earthy whisp of chocolate. Overall, a very nice wine that I paid $35 for on release nearly 3 decades ago. I don’t think there is any reason to wait any longer to have this wine. I can’t imagine it will get much better so enjoy any you have over the next couple years as I will with my last 2 bottles!
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12/25/2018 - vanpe003 wrote: flawed
corked
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12/7/2018 - SonnyChiba wrote: 91 Points
Came across much younger than expected for a 32 year old wine. Has held up impeccably well. And while it is a nice wine I didn’t get too excited after tasting. A good solid Bordeaux that drinks as if it is 15-20 years old, just lacking any wow factor.
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11/9/2018 - salil wrote: 91 Points
I liked this more than others at the table (though I'm generally more fond of '86 Bordeaux than most), though this feels immensely young and tannic. Tasted from two different bottles - both showing a core of black fruit that's still quite youthful and fresh, accented with cedar, graphite, and a touch of leathery funk (though nowhere near Cordier levels). Time in the glass brings out more low-toned earthy and tobacco notes, though the firm tannin here never seems to soften. This was best with some protein nearby, though more impressive than pleasurable at this point in its life.
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11/9/2018 - acyso wrote: 88 Points
HDH Bordeaux Auction; 11/9/2018-11/10/2018 (Chicago, IL): Seems a bit dirty on the nose. Funky and not entirely the most pleasant. Earthy and animale? There's a bit of woodiness as well. The palate seems a little weird, with a slight bit of wet cardboard funk (though the nose definitely doesn't strike me as corked). Mostly structure, with acid and tannin. Cool, but this doesn't strike me as particularly interesting either. Dried up, perhaps?
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11/2/2018 - short and confused wrote: flawed
Cork fell apart but was not soaked all the way through. First aromas said flaw. Several more hours did nothing to dissuade. Was looking forward to this one. Oh well.
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10/27/2018 - Aravind Asok wrote:
Not sure what to make of this. Ok with time open: loads of cedar and toast and a touch of charcoal, but dried fruit in the background. Missing a step on the palate and finish...like it was a ducru, but viewed through a cloudy window. Opened up a bit with more air...took it home and finished on day 2, where it seemed really faded...I'll chalk it up the celllar issues at ducru at the time...
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10/9/2018 - dream Likes this wine: 93 Points
An excellent showing for this wine and it needed the most time in decanter to show itself. Structured and grippy like all '86's but with nice flavors underneath of tobacco, dark fruits and cedar. A bit tougher in texture than the '85 LLC drunk alongside but ultimately it may have had more complexity with fine notes of spices and minerals on the finish.
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10/6/2018 - RAD0045 Likes this wine: 92 Points
6 OCT 2018 TASTED ’82, ’83 AND ‘86
‘83: at first, just after decanting seemed thin, minimal nose. But 1 - 2 hours later came ‘out’ and continued to open throughout the evening. Reasonable nose and more complexity, yet minimal finish. After 24 hours under Argon tried it again and still holding. Bought it at Ernie’s in Palo Alto in the late ‘80s for $21.97.!
‘86: Darker in color than the ‘83. Still some tannin, but more tartness with some fruit to balance. After 24 hours, slight hint of fruitiness and berries.
‘82. Darkest of the three, good dark ruby. Big nose, filled the room when decanting. Still alive, some berries in the nose, nicely balanced for a 36 year old wine. Has been in our cellar for a good 30 years. Tried it the next day, and was still a very respectable wine.
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9/29/2018 - RayOB wrote: 90 Points
Drank at 67
Slightly tired beside the '96 but still nice
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9/8/2018 - NickBurwood wrote: 89 Points
(Yet) another roll of the dice: split cork but not flawed if far from the level of the previous two bottles from this case.
Earthy, smokey, but its fruit was too dominated to shine by a green capsid acidity a tad too much to the fore. OK but hoping for better next time. Remember to have a substitute at the ready for the sadly inevitable odd undrinkable bottle!
Good bottles will hold up to 2025, so (unless you're psychic) might as well use this date for all!
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8/25/2018 - the player Likes this wine: 92 Points
Consistent with previous bottles. See last note. One bottle left!
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8/6/2018 - graemeg wrote:
NobleRottersSydney - top 80s Bordeaux (360 Bar & Dining, Sydney): {cork, 12.5%} [Gordon] The 86 Mouton is a tough act to follow, but this wasn’t disgraced. It’s evidently aged, with compost and leather aromas, maybe a touch musty after the Paulliac powerhouse. The palate is lovely though; currants, olives, a touch of mixed herbs and a leafy ripeness. Medium-bodied, and still has some medium weight tannins. Feels a bit looser than the top-shelf wines tonight but that’s just context; this would be a star any other time. Medium length finish; at peak drinking but seems likely to hold a while. Decanted just before dinner.
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7/22/2018 - BBencz Likes this wine: 96 Points
From a bottle re-corked at Ducru in 2011. Decanted for two hours. A bit of musty funk blew off after about an hour, leaving behind forest floor, tobacco, and blackberry aromas. Wine showed only slight secondary characteristics, with blackberry and currant flavors dominating. Tannins are fully integrated. Could not believe this was a 32-year-old wine. Just fantastic, and still going strong.
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6/7/2018 - Rani Likes this wine: 94 Points
This was a pristine ex-cellars bottle. Superbly complex, great core of fruit, mild notes of cedar, cigars, leafy forest floor, and ink. Velvety, balanced, and simply delicious. An amazing bottle.
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5/13/2018 - redknife Likes this wine: 92 Points
for mothers day took to Mortons with Sam
Drinking beautifully with nice amount of fruit left
It wont get better
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4/17/2018 - Corsica131 wrote: 92 Points
Very tannic, not very complex.
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4/8/2018 - Cabernetdialectic wrote: 97 Points
This smells like a pine forest, or a drafting table full of pencils, or mossy wet boulders, or all of these things. It’s got that classic “cigar box” aroma, and so much more. Red currants with just a ghost of the black, Worcestershire sauce, celery root, lilacs, sauna rocks, fresh mushrooms from your lawn. Still has some tannic power all these years in, but it’s a fine, dexterous, classy power, and enough freshness persists to potentiate the red fruit and graphite into a glorious, glorious romp through humid subterranean grottos, up into the prickly currant bushes and fungi on the forest floor, and further up into the aromatic conifers and beyond into the ether.
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3/25/2018 - Goldstone Likes this wine: 93 Points
Sunday Lunch at Crown Wine Cellars (Crown Wine Cellars, 18 Deep Water Bay Drive, Shouson Hill, Hong Kong): Decanted for 1.5 hours (which seemed about right). Jeweled but dark semi-opaque ruby just lightening slightly at the edges. Nose is classic St. Julien, cedar shingles, autumnal damp bracken, super quite ripe blackberries, warm oak. Palate is fabulous.....deep rich blackberry and blackcurrant fruit, a huge blast of resonance inside your head that grows in a mind-expanding way. Good acidity, which it needs because the typical 1996 Bordeaux tannins are very much present. Wow, still a ton of tannin on the back end. Would be 95 pts if the nose matched the palate...which it started to after 2 hours in the glass as pencil lead and graphite increasingly emerged. Lovely and gained to 93+. Has 10 years ahead of it to improve....I definitely wouldn't open a magnum yet if I had one. I loved this...more so than the 1985 vintage I have a case of.
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1/21/2018 - mye wrote:
Birth Year - Themed wine dinner: 1 hour decant, 3 hour follow.
I see this as a solid workhorse.. just classic/reliably tasty.
Doesn't it stand out like a 90 montrose no. but it's just there, and it's just yummy. i can take this bottle for dinner any day!
Classic st julien nose, with a hint of smokiness. Yum!
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1/5/2018 - rstark wrote: flawed
Another 1986 Ducru with TCA taint from the issue that happened that year in the winemaking facility. (Google it ... there's plenty of info about it on the internet). It's sometimes very faint, but this bottle had to get dumped out. It's weird how when the taint comes from something other than cork, it behaves differently. We were fooled for a couple minutes, thinking it was just "earthiness" . But within 5 minutes it was all wet newspaper and all that other TCA jazz.
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12/29/2017 - Trudy2015 wrote: flawed
Corked! Cork was saturated and almost dripping wet. Ugh! Clearly not a re corked one. Be mindful.
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12/15/2017 - amm1125 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted for an 2 hours before serving. Very earthy. Really opened up after a couple more hours. Leather, forest floor, dark fruits on the nose. Medium Finish
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12/13/2017 - redknife Likes this wine: 95 Points
With the WS South FL group at American English in Hollywood, FL
Decanted for 3 hrs before we tried it. Nose screamed Bordeaux right from the beginning. Beautiful and nicely blended tertiary aromas with red/black fruits, tobacco
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11/29/2017 - SlimShaney wrote: 90 Points
Plenty upfront. Impressive. But acidic. Respect? For sure. Enjoy? Less so.
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11/25/2017 - punter wrote: 92 Points
Dark mixed berries, cedar, tobacco, honey and tar nose with rich purple color on pour of 1 hour decant. Surprisingly fresh juicy dark, layered fruits with some cassis and light minerals that improved as tannins dissipated with time. Should improve over 3-4 years, and easily go another 10+ years. Drinking nicely but began to fall apart after 4 hours...
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10/14/2017 - Collector1855 wrote: 92 Points
During a merchant tasting. Also here, lovely nose with lots of wet forest floor, pine, dark fruit, very Medoc. No greenness like in the 1985 but a touch rustic.
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9/24/2017 - the player wrote: 92 Points
Decanted and aerated for an hour than drank over 90 minutes. Ruby red color, some bricking throughout the wine. Nose of cassis, sweet tobacco and coffee. Soft entry on the palate, good acidity, medium bodied and a decent though not flabbergasting finish. Nice mature left bank.
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6/1/2017 - rpenn77 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Rich and fresh despite its age. Cedar and cigar box nose.
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5/15/2017 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
A lovely deep, youthful colour. The nose is fresh with cassis and blackberry fruit, some capsicum and cedar and tar. It is still relatively tight and compact in the mouth with nice detail of briary fruit flavours and some meat and earthy development sneaking into the flavour profile. Tannins have softened a little but there's a big lick of whippy, minerally acid to the finish.
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4/22/2017 - the player Likes this wine: 92 Points
Nice wine for the price; ruby red, needs time in the decanter to shed its austere notes. Lots of tobacco, cassis and currants with a touch of peppery finish. Tannins still present but soft, good acidity and balance. Decent finish.
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2/26/2017 - skifree wrote: 91 Points
Picked for OTBN 2017. This was recorked at the Chateau in 2011. Had an orange meniscus at the rim. Classic flavors of fruit rouge, tobacco, and cedar. This was excellent, but not particularly noteworthy.
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2/25/2017 - sobolev Likes this wine: 90 Points
A slightly less pleasant experience than the other members'... from a bottle with danish import label, secondary notes quickly fading into a classic tertiary claret experience, still incredibly enjoyable but on the declining end
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2/18/2017 - doctornoah Likes this wine: 93 Points
My 40th Birthday Weekend; 2/17/2017-2/20/2017: Cherry, tobacco, aging dark fruits and a bit of spice. A lovely aged Bordeaux and still in prime drinking window. More secondary than tertiary and not a lot of funk/earth going on.
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2/12/2017 - jillietee Likes this wine: 94 Points
Sometimes this wine is amazing sometimes this wine is not. Just depends on the bottle. Last night it was incredible. Very subtle, and a beautiful cherry Tang the finish. Soft on the pallet
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1/30/2017 - A.Hansen Likes this wine: 93 Points
Recorked at the Chateau in 2011. A very pleasant claret. Nose of sous bois, leather and dark fruit. Palate of blackberry, tobacco, graphite and herbs held in place by a spine of acidity.
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1/27/2017 - weinmatt Likes this wine: 91 Points
The old Bordeaux nose... syrupy raspberries, sweet tobacco, graphite. Cork was a crumbly mess. It didn't blow me away, but it was good.
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1/16/2017 - Thoughtful Likes this wine: 94 Points
Stored in cold cellar since release. Very high fill level. Cork as new. A bit of bottle stink cleared. Decant for a couple of hours.A little dense, great depth and balance. Powerful. Rich. Tannin .Backward. Not typical St Julien. A fifty year wine.
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1/1/2017 - the player Likes this wine: 93 Points
Excellent value for money. See previous notes.
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12/23/2016 - dream Likes this wine: 91 Points
A bit of funk on the nose that never quite blew off but the wine seemed fine on the palate with a lovely aged complexity and that nuttiness of aged Bordeaux. Fine flavors of some remaining black currant fruit and tobacco along with notes of Asian spices and forest floor. Finishes with a nice, round complexity and some remaining tannins. Good bottles of this should have plenty of years left. Definitely an old-style Bordeaux.
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12/12/2016 - the player Likes this wine: 93 Points
Had it alongside a Rauzan Segla 86. Decanted an hour and drank over two. Ruby color, still youthful color for a 30 year old. I have to say compared to some austere 86s I have had, this wine was more open and charming. Nice nose of cassis, leather, spice and sweet tobacco, subtle entry on the palate, good acidity and structure, velvety mid palate and finishes slightly sweet on a raspberry note. Very nice indeed.
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11/25/2016 - Stevelayden Likes this wine: 93 Points
I have to admit I haven't been drinking and clearing wine long enough to drink anything close to this age out of my own cellar. Purchased in the flood of re-bottled CDB that was released in the US in late 2011. Not a bad Bordeaux for $140. Compared to other aged Bordeaux I've been lucky enough to try, this seemed young for its age. Almost a uniform dark ruby color with just a touch of lightening around the rim.
Decanted for two hours before serving. This was in that beautiful phase where its tannins have integrated well, tobacco and cedar undertones are coming through well, but the fruit is still very accessible. Slightly better integration the second day on the leftovers. Definitely would buy again if I found it.
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11/16/2016 - Raizes Likes this wine: 93 Points
保存非常好的86老酒，经过补液，几乎没有酒石酸沉淀，而且经历了double decanting之后，标志性的“波尔多臭”花了两个小时才慢慢散去，露出深藏其中的酸浆果和醋栗果味。草本气息、咸矿物感、加香烟丝、咖啡的香气纷至沓来，制造了“臭→酸→壮→甜”的曲线波动。从入口感受来说，赤霞珠的特质非常强，酒体精瘦有力，单宁细而不弱，还可以经历更长时间的醒酒和陈年。随着香气的丰满和酒体结构的扩张，这款酒就像繁花与花插的结合，花之炫目和器之风骨缺一不可。
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11/9/2016 - Jstw Likes this wine:
Nice
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10/28/2016 - redknife Likes this wine: 92 Points
with the group several weeks ago
was well liked can go for another decade or so
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10/16/2016 - TexasBob Likes this wine: 87 Points
Dull medium garnet. Spicy raspberry, vanilla, raspberry, and dust on the nose. A bit flat, with sour raspberries, and just a bit of dust. Fairly tasty, but past its prime.
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10/11/2016 - redknife Likes this wine: 92 Points
At Le Provencale with the group
its been a few weeks so no tasting notes but showed well; no rush but drink within 5-7 years
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7/8/2016 - pepmi wrote:
Last night we opened an '87 Ducru that was noticeably corked. Looking back on my tasting notes, I noticed the last bottle of '86 Ducru we tasted was horribly flawed and corked. That was in 2009. Seven years later, this bottle is showing only moderately better. My tastings of the '90 Ducru have been unbelievable. A bad mid-eighties run.
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6/16/2016 - Burgnick Likes this wine: 92 Points
Recorked bottle. This wine needs a 2 hr decant to open up. It was tight and tannin initially. Nose had tobacco, earth, red fruit and herbs. Palate expressed decent red fruit after 2 hours of air. Its more bold and powerful than the recorked 85. But it did not have that elegance and smoothness of 85 that I enjoyed a lot. It can easily be cellared for another 5-8 years to reach its peak.
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5/17/2016 - the player Likes this wine: 93 Points
Delicious and mature claret. Ruby red with bricking throughout, decanted and let breathe than drank over an hour or so. Delightful nose of cassis, leather and earth, supple entry on the palate, coats the mid palate with dark red fruits, good acidity, structure, decent complexity and weight, tannins fully resolved and a satisfying finish. Drink now or hold, this is a beauty at this price point.
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4/2/2016 - blanquito wrote: flawed
Corked.
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3/18/2016 - finewinebuff57 wrote: 90 Points
At 30 years, this particular bottle was possibly at its peak, indeed a little drying. Drink soon
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3/11/2016 - dars_blog Likes this wine: 97 Points
Still a baby, but developing very nicely. The cork showed absolutely no sign of creep. I plan to wait another 3 to 5 years before opening another.
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2/17/2016 - NickBurwood Likes this wine: 92 Points
Another roll of the dice; and another excellent bottle very much as my 93pt November '14 entry albeit a little less concentrated all round from memory. Such a pity one has to have a backup bottle standing to attention in case of the dreaded cork virus!
Fully mature but with the structure of this bottle certainly fine until approaching the mid 2020s.
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1/23/2016 - kerv22 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Bottle re-corked by chateau in 2011. This was an amazing bottle. The wine was approachable immediately after pop and pour, however after roughly 30 minutes it was singing. On the nose the wine is surprisingly youthful. Notes of blackberries, blueberries, cassis, eucalyptus, and a hint of leather. On the palate the wine is again youthful and perfectly integrated. Low-med tannins, low alcohol, medium bodied with all of the typical St. Julien notes. I felt that it wasn't until the rear palate that you truly got a hint of how old this wine was. Excellent. A real treat.
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1/1/2016 - Lype wrote: flawed
Corked, blimey.
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12/10/2015 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 91 Points
Clear and deep crimson. Nose required an hour or so to open up and delivered astringent, leathery, herbaceous, and red-cedar driven notes. Soily. Better on the palate but still either far more tertiary than expected or just really closed right now. Sharp cranberry, red cedar bark, and leathery red berries throughout. Big tannin but approachable. A good bottle of wine but definitely showed some of the tougher aspects of St. Julien. Not very 'pretty' and outshone by an '86 Palmer enjoyed side by side. Possibly a less than perfect bottle as the cork was a little crumbly even with a Durand. Will try again.
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10/2/2015 - Hawk94 wrote: 92 Points
Still fresh, powerful, livid, lovely! Need to be decanted for 2 hr. It is delicious while at peak.
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9/27/2015 - nortonnose wrote: 94 Points
Thankfully this one was not flawed - far from it! Graciously supplied from his ex-chateau purchase. Thanks, Marc!
Why write TNs when your pals will do it for you, and better than you would?! Thank you both, Marc & Phil! :)
I suppose unsurprisingly, but still remarkable to me how backward and crazy young these 1986s remain! Still tannic/backward/massive - nearly 30 yrs later! Very enjoyable but absolutely still 5+ years until nearing a maturity plateau. Hold!
(*score is genuinely my own!)
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9/27/2015 - englishman's claret wrote: 94 Points
Ducru Beaucaillou vertical: A wine ready to run the long race. This bottle, one of the recently chateau re-corked lot, just poking into maturity. As always, the classic Ducru notes of cassis, mineral, cedar, ginger with such a lascivious body. But also true to Ducru, reflective of the vintage. Thus it's also got darker fruit notes, smoke; a solidly built wine that will last and last. Should approach peak in another 5 years. 94++
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9/27/2015 - RockinCabs wrote: 94 Points
Ducru Vertical with Boston Tasting Group (Brownstone Garden): Nose: Deep blackberry, cassis and gingerbread. Palate: Showing the youngest of these wines by far on the palate. Dense youthful black/blue fruit with floral, pen ink and spice notes. Feel was nice wit a classy glossy polish. Finish: Long and dense with blackberry, fig tart and nice leather/cedar notes. 94+
This was a bottle released earlier this year by the Chateau, and purchased direct. This showed perhaps 15 years younger than the 83, demonstrating the quality of these ex-chateau releases.
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9/5/2015 - nywine68 wrote:
Nice and smooth. Still youthful. Somehow felt a bit closed and inexpressive, though, despite decanting. Underwhelming for what it is (costs)
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8/14/2015 - ETT95 wrote: 89 Points
It's a recorked-ex-chateau version. It's medium bodied with ruby red colour. It comes with fresh fruits then plums and res berries accompanied by chocolate and oak. Tannin are resolved and the wine is beautiful, smooth, mature. Enjoyable now.
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7/11/2015 - Meneley wrote:
Orange/brown colour. Not much fruit on nose and the finish is slightly bitter. Will not improve with more age. Drink within the next 6 - 12 mos. LO
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7/2/2015 - johnh1001 wrote: 92 Points
BYO at Goosefoot (Chicago): Much, much more approachable than the 86 Margaux. Sweeter round fruit, round and silky. Nice right now but will hold.
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4/28/2015 - jillietee wrote: 86 Points
the wine is just hit or miss depending on the bottle. last bottle i drank was exquisite, this one, not good- but in defense of the wine, we were drinking with all newer wines so a little hard to compare.
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3/22/2015 - johnh1001 wrote: 90 Points
Dark fruit, cedar and some herbal notes. Somewhat sturdy and coarse on the palate. Nice flavors, but I wanted more balance and harmony.
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2/27/2015 - _water.into.wine_ Likes this wine: 97 Points
Purchased ex-chateau and part of their recorking exercise in 2011 so came in the new style bottle and reassuring you that you wouldn't be purchasing a corked bottle (which if you weren't aware, caused major issues at the chateau in the late 80s).
Still possessing a dark red core with only slight bricking, so surprisingly youthful for a wine aged nearly 30 years. A floral and fragrant nose with some sweetness which breaks with some rich cherries and faded tobacco. To taste, the most elegant feeling in the mouth, with a 'glass-like' precision: feeling weightless across the tongue and sitting in the base of your mouth around the teeth and gums, before filling out during the swallow.
A medium bodied wine which is seriously smooth and elegant. Still has very light tannins, some heat and a nice balance of fruit, secondary wood/tobacco notes, nice acidity and integrated tannins. I saved two glasses to drink the next day (and sneaked into the cinema) and the wine held together well, actually gaining some weight feeling slightly more tannic.
If you have in your cellar, drink now. But will last longer.
As an additional note, I recently had the 98 and 99 which this started, and remained ahead of. Drank to celebrate YEA 2014. For me, it's wines like this that make bordeaux so special.
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2/9/2015 - graemeg wrote:
NobleRottersSydney - top 86 Bdx (mostly) with Grange (360 Bar & Dining, Sydney): {cork, 12.5%} (Gordon) Mid garnet. There’s a slight naphthalene, moth-ball hint on the nose, despite the decant it’s had; seems a bit dull and muted after the 89 Lafite; the palate has somewhat fading red fruits, a bit anonymous. For all that the fruit has largely departed, the rest of the structure is pretty tidy, with soft dusty tannins, and medium acidity still hold up. The overall impression is of a wine a bit blocky and hard-edged, with a medium-length finish. It doesn’t have a lot of charm, and amongst tonight’s shining stars it was probably the dud, but on its own it would be fine, even if not a truly memorable experience. Ready to drink.
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12/14/2014 - jillietee wrote: 94 Points
brought to a lovely dinner with dear friends, and it could not have been more wonderful. Excellent Bordeaux...got better as the night went on, I couldn't get enough.
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11/17/2014 - NickBurwood Likes this wine: 93 Points
Eureka!! Perfect cork, perfect bottle (at fifth attempt) from this notoriously troubled period in Ducru's otherwise illustrious history.
Two hour almost clean decant. Deep colour. Intense aromas of dense cooked plum and hedge fruits, touch of of truffle and toasty oak. Not a hint of cork/fault. Wonderful rich fruit concentration on the mouth, dashes of tar, a little heat with integrated tannins. Notable balancing acid. Long.
Perfection - such a pity that so many bottles are corked/faulty and don't reach this level.
This example would certainly have had another ten years ahead of it - but I wouldn't chance it given the inconsistency between bottles.
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10/25/2014 - jtech wrote:
Clear. Light redish, bricking and light edge.
Clean. Developing. Straight forward nose, berries, plums, cedar wood and tobacco, some sweet notes to the fruit.
Easy going and a light sweet note on the palate as well, ripe tannins, slight rawness to them. Sleek, bit light, good freshness/med acidity.
Good length on the finish.
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10/25/2014 - fontaine wrote: 92 Points
Robe encore très foncée. Premier nez un peu funky, assez animal, tout se replace avec l'aération. Bouche fruitée, suave, grasse.
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7/1/2014 - Jeffrey Silver wrote: 94 Points
- Garnet color with slow forming legs and aromas of cut green grass, bell pepper, blackberry, black currant and raspberry. It's balanced and has flavours of cherry, asparagus, honey and vanilla with a full body. Smooth texture with a long finish - This wine was decanted for 4.5hrs. It's was truly perfect in sense of what mature Bordeaux should be. Yes it needs allot of air and opening it for 15min will not help you. I loved this wine and it was truly sublime. I have a few more and will opened them up over the next 2-3yrs for sure.
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6/9/2014 - Wink Likes this wine: 92 Points
Brought to dinner at Boca. No formal notes. Fully mature Bordeaux. Earthy nose. Delicious ripe fruit. Excellent length. Integrated oak and soft tannins.
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6/6/2014 - canan wrote: 90 Points
Bordeaux 1986 Horisontal Tasting: Tight black currant fruit palate but overall a bit "simple" and singular.
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5/19/2014 - Jeff Leve wrote: 88 Points
Tannic, classic, stern and tough style of old school Bordeaux is more fun in the nose than on the palate with its austere, slightly dry personality.
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4/11/2014 - vanpe003 wrote: 90 Points
Pop/pour. Initially I thought this was off, maybe corked. Then after 15 minutes or so, thought it was just tired. After an hour, this rounded out nicely. This drinks as mature for sure. But given enough time, it's a "good mature". Whatever oak was used has turned into aged cedar. I've got a couple more of these, and will be drinking soon. If I were to guess, this was probably better "back in the day", say 5-10 years ago. But still pleasant for anyone who likes the mature version of Bordeaux.
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3/13/2014 - d'Artagnan wrote: 91 Points
Dégustation Bordeaux 1986 Chez Christophe: Un nez discret, fumé, avec des notes de mine de crayon.
Comme les autres vins de ce groupe, il paraissait bien sévère au début et s’est montré sous un meilleur jour après une bonne aération.
La bouche est droite, avec une bonne structure, mais il se fait plus rond ensuite, des tanins assez soyeux, dans un style austère, avec une bonne longueur. 91pts
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1/1/2014 - WineCellarTV wrote: 88 Points
Deep dark garnet. Slightly transparent rim.
Dense and vital!
Aromatics of Ripe, Dark Berry Fruits. Fruit in Rum- all in all short on fruit.
Fully integrated,showing a lot of secondary and tertiary characters of
Tobacco, Earth, Dark Chocolate and Herbs.
Beautiful Floral Traces of Roses! Some (Sweet) Vanilla, Eucalypt and Oak.
Soft and sweet nose. Integrated and harmonious!
Hardly any fruit flavors. Little Fruit in Rum.
Interesting play of Earthy Notes , Spices, Tobacco and Leather.
Medium bodied with almost fully integrated dusty tannins and hardly any acidity.
Lacking density and a little dull on the midpalate, but very approachable and still a joy to drink.
Medium-long finish with Warmth and Peppery Spiciness.
Harmonious and elegant!
Nice mature, fully integrated St-Julien!
Elegant, balanced with medium-complexity.
Beautiful aromatics (!), but a little weak on the (mid) palate.
See more details at cellartv.wordpress.com
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12/15/2013 - johnh1001 wrote: flawed
Unfortunately this was corked.
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12/7/2013 - nortonnose wrote: 83 Points
La Commanderie de Bordeaux - Boston Annual Gala (Somerset Club, Boston): My bad luck with this vigneron continues. This had been decanted for approximately five-plus hours. Deep violet color, but even after double decanting this still threw a ton of sediment. Very barnyard nose (and obviously if you're into that, it gets you excited!). This was served at ten distinct tables out of differing bottles, and eight or nine of them believed it was flawed (the tenth said it was singing beautifully). Many believed this to be corked but I really am not so sure. It just showed very poorly in my view. If you own this, I suppose you either sell for full current market price if you can get it, or heed the suggested CT drinking window and cross your fingers that this will be much more than disappointing in 2020-2025.
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11/13/2013 - RayOB wrote: 90 Points
Drank at DuCru Dinner
A lovely wine but the nose and palate are very faded. Is it asleep or is it time to drink up?
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10/30/2013 - Spl232 wrote: 91 Points
Very austere, took 4-5 hours to bring any fruit forward. Then had some dark fruit, cigar, licorice and cocoa flavors with very mature BDX nose. Unfortunately it was more interesting than enjoyable. The dryness of the palate just never quite made this an "wow" experience. Next time I'll be sure to pair with some steak or lamb to help enhance and balance the wine.
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10/15/2013 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com Likes this wine: 95 Points
Double Blind Wine Dinner @ Le Provençal (266 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables, FL): The wine looks Garnet colored. The legs are Slow. It smells like Blackberry, Black currant (cassis), Cedar, Lead Pencil, and Violet. The body is Medium/Full. The wine has Bright texture. The wine finishes Long. Luis' Bordeaux, seems at its peak. One of the best of the night.
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9/7/2013 - Average Wine Guy (MH) wrote: 92 Points
The 1986 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou is dark garnet in colour with a tawny rim. The rather developed nose displayed captivating nuances of dark red cherries, cassis, cedar, cigar box and copper. On the palate, an initial sweetness of dark red cherries and wood dust that progresses to slight spice and herbs of rosemary and tomato leaves.
A medium bodied wine that boasts of a fascinating balance and integration. Good structure yet smooth, elegant and gentle on the palate with its almost powdery tannins. Definitely still has some strength in the wine to give it a good consistent drive without being forceful and rough.
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8/9/2013 - Lype Likes this wine: 91 Points
Quite powerful wine, still a lot of tannins, blue berries, tar, a wine for grilled food, could be more complex but nevertheless a strong showing.
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7/9/2013 - Lewis C wrote: 92 Points
Tasted in Magnum at a wine club dinner in London last night. The Ducru was up against a Sassaicia '95, Talbot '00 and a Pride Napa Valley '94. As expected, this wine was the most developed, with strong tertiary aromas of cigar box, cedar wood and vegetation. What was slightly disappointing - especially given the format - was that the wine lacked freshness and most of the primary fruit had vanished. Acidity was lower than hoped - perhaps explaining the lack of freshness - although the tannins were fairly well integrated but still noticeable. The mouth feel was excellent, and the finish was decent. Overall, a very good wine.
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5/19/2013 - NickBurwood wrote: 88 Points
Replaced a flawed corked bottle. 90 minute rather than intended two hour decant.
Broadly the same robust structure as previous note but with marginally more dark hedge fruit character although flavour finishes a bit lean. Three bottles so far from same case showing a significant variance (1 flawed). Think will take pot luck and work through remaining bottles over the next two or three years unless they show a remarkable improvement.
A vintage widely accepted as disappointing for Ducru but I fear exacerbated by a perhaps badly, in the past, stored case. Can't win them all!
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5/9/2013 - ggormezano Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted for 3 hours. Very austere initially, then gained significant weight & depth of flavor 4-5 hours after opening. Really great wine once it opened up. Would recommend decanting for at least 4-5 hours prior to drinking.
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4/19/2013 - NickBurwood wrote: 88 Points
This bottle was unyielding on the nose even after a 2hr decant and on the palate had strappy leathery presence with a hint of vegetal age but lacking in recognisable fruit character.
Not sure what to make of this. All blood and guts but signifying not a lot! Seems to have the structure for a further 10yrs ageing, without obvious potential to improve in that period.
Given the community score will revisit later in the year to check if this was (hopefully) a deviant/rogue bottle.
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3/7/2013 - Wine Canuck Likes this wine: 93 Points
Second bottle consumed in the last two years with consistent notes. The nose on this wine is phenomenal. 1 Hour in the decanter and it's a knockout. Wet maduro cigar wrapper, cigar box, spice box, cedar, cassis, just stunning. The palate is where the let down happens; it's very tannic, drying, astringent, and a touch sour. Unfortunately doesn't match up with the nose at all. 95 point nose, 89 point palate. I settled on 93. Nice wine for the dinner table though.
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3/7/2013 - Vin Lover wrote: 93 Points
Popped & poured, and let it slowly gets ready in the glass - love this. I thought this has already fully matured and will stay at the peak at least few more years. The nose was very composed, mellowed with lots of incense, sweet cinnamon, spices, pepper and stony minerality character in there. On the palate was equally impressive with an arrays of sweet core fruits which including black currants, plums with a pinch of orange peels, cinnamons, dried herbs and mineral flavours that last all the way into its long pleasant finish. Still very fresh thanks to the very good acidity, and has a really nice weighted and balanced mouth feel which those best wines from St Julien always achieved.
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3/1/2013 - jinks Likes this wine: 94 Points
amazingly youthful. Just as good on day 2. a real treat.
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12/31/2012 - curtr Likes this wine: 90 Points
Decanted 3 hours. Still acting like a young wine. Just starting to show the finer points. I am enjoying this now and believe it will improve. Try again in 2015.
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12/23/2012 - taipeileviathan Likes this wine: 94 Points
I really quite enjoyed this wine. Our bottle was one of the bunch that was re-bottled at the winery I believe in 2011? Showing lots of power and even a bit of youth, this still has many years ahead left but is drinking very well right now. Outperformed the '98 Latour we had in the same night by a considerable with more of everything: more red fruit, more earth, more flavor, more nose, more complexity, more finish, more presence... the only thing it had less of was its associated cost, and a little less subtlety. Bravo.
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12/7/2012 - Paul S wrote: 92 Points
Wine Bash of the Year 2012 (Jade Palace, Forum Galleria): Pretty good, this has improved somewhat from the bottle we had 4 years ago, but still needs quite a bit of time in the bottle. It had a really nice nose, with a drift toasty earth, some meat touches, lots of ripe cassis aromas, and then a nice bit of roasted capsicums and lifted tobacco notes. The palate was still amazingly young, with fine, but tightly grained tannins coiled around a core of clenched cassis and dark berry flavours. While it was still rather primary on the attack, the midpalate was more nuanced, with a touch of spice and tobacco lingering into the finish, where the fresh acidity of the wine really shone through. This was clearly one of those 1986s that seem as though they may never come around. While it certainly had a bit more going on than in the previous outing, it still lacks a bit of complexity. All said, it is pretty good though - it is one to try again in another 5 years' time, though one gets a feeling that 10 years would be closer to the mark. I only hope that the fruit lasts as long as the rather stern structure.
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12/3/2012 - Bistrobro1 Likes this wine:
solid and good. lasted the whole evening. none of the flaws of the ducrus of that era. like most '86's not a lot of fruit, but good body.
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12/2/2012 - drdecanto Does not like this wine: 89 Points
This bottle disappointed. Looking back at my notes, the only bottle that I enjoyed was at a 1986 Bordeaux tasting on release. I bought 6 bottles after that tasting. I had a bottle on my 40th birthday on 1/2/9/93 and gave it 2/5 stars on the system I used then. Not a very high mark. This recent bottle had no ullage and a perfect cork. Decanted. Tasted immediately and consumed over the course of 6 hours without improvement. Deep purple color with a thin rim of pale ruby at the edge. The nose was restrained but offered some hints of cedar and tobacco. Not much fruit. In the mouth it was bitter, tannic, and unyielding. Not pleasant. I don't think that it's "just young". The bottles that I've had have not impressed. over the course of 20+ years. Interesting that so many others like this... a lot. I wonder if the store that I purchased these from had bottles that were somehow damaged? If this is eventually going to come around, I won't be alive to appreciate it. I think I'll sell what I have.
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11/8/2012 - johnh1001 wrote: 93 Points
Drank over two hours. Should have decanted. Nice big big nose of red fruit, tobacco, cedar and leather. The palate matched with surprising emphasis on the red fruit--at times this seemed jammy. Quite a bit of tannin, an '86 for sure, on the long finish. A nice wine that needs time.
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10/9/2012 - indiscriminate palate wrote:
Very tight, walnut on open. Wine opens wonderfully with two hours of air. Lots of tannin and acidity. Fairly light body. Very classic medium-intensity nose (tobacco, cedar, leather, pencil lead, black fruit). Medium finish. There is no shame in drinking this now (with enough air and appropriate food pairing), though it certainly has lots of life ahead of it.
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10/9/2012 - salil wrote: 93 Points
Still incredibly young with the fruit very fresh and a powerful tannic spine beneath that's almost overwhelming at first. This softens and becomes a lot more approachable and fragrant with a couple of hours in the decanter, with cedar, tobacco, graphite, leather and rich dark fruited flavours coming together seamlessly. Outstanding, really classical Bordeaux though this really does need a fair bit more time in the cellar.
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10/1/2012 - dream wrote: 92 Points
It's 50/50 with these Ducru's from this era given issues in their cellars but this was a good, clean bottle. Very much an old-school Bordeaux with a slightly rustic character but the charm and elegance of Ducru can be found lurking under the strong tannins that are finally starting to ameliorate a bit. This wine has depth in the middle and possesses good intensity with flavors of tobacco, spices and charred earth. The acidity is high but overall the wine is balanced and delivers an excellent aged Bordeaux experience. It's just beginning to drink well and good bottles should last indefinitely.
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8/3/2012 - Chains1966 wrote: 86 Points
Just an off bottle. Cardboard smell for few hours then subsided and fruit was there. Cigar box, spice.
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4/3/2012 - wine&roses wrote: 92 Points
Yummy, but just on the verge of being corked. Gorgeous, opulent palate, but not much on the nose. Time to drink the bottles in this cellar--a very happy task! Two bottles.
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2/9/2012 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 92 Points
Brown Bag Wine Dinner at Two Chefs - Double Blind; 2/7/2012-2/9/2012: - Purple color with fast forming legs. It's balanced with a full body. Bright texture with a long finish - Al's wine.
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2/6/2012 - wine&roses wrote: 92 Points
Two bottles with John & Jenny. Beautifully stored & aged, lovely mature claret; thank God we have lived to see it mature in this way; let's hope all our oenophile friends will get to enjoy it in this wonderful, free, American way.
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11/28/2011 - Faryan wrote: 94 Points
86 Bored Oh: Slow ox'd for a few hours then decanted for about 1 hr prior to pouring. Wow was this good. Floral, seductive but well knit. Lovely fruit but always light on its feet. It's a weird mix of classic bordeaux with opulence. Simply a great combo.
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10/5/2011 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 94 Points
Brown Bag Wine Dinner at Two Chefs; 10/4/2011-10/5/2011 (TWO CHEFS, MIAMI, FL): - Garnet color with fast forming legs and aromas of eucalyptus, tobacco, black currant and cedar. It's in total harmony and has flavours of eucalyptus, black currant and licorice anise with a medium body. Bright texture with a long finish - Barry's wine. My WOTN.
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5/5/2011 - vinole wrote: 92 Points
S FL WS Group Welcomes wine + art (Himmarshee's - Ft. Lauderdale, FL): Dark color for a 25 year old wine. Much earthier than the other Bordeaux tasted this evening. Fuller bodied and more powerful than the others as well. Dark fruit with a chewy texture.
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4/30/2011 - salil wrote: flawed
Corked.
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4/11/2011 - KenK wrote: 92 Points
1986 Bordeaux @ EWS: 1986 Ducru Beaucaillou (St. Julien) (92WA, 95WS)
Dark sweet aromatic black cherry with leather and toast.Chewy rich dense sweet big acids, black fruit flavors, simpler finish. Filled with rocks
and stones. 92
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1/30/2011 - CellarBord wrote: 92 Points
A bold rugged food wine that went well with Roast breast of guinea hen with lentils.
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1/15/2011 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Bordeaux night in San Antonio (Home of David B.): Slightly disappointing in this lineup. Cork stained almost to the top—opened just in time. Decanted several hours prior. Rather shy nose, with a slight medicinal note with some stewed fruit. Somewhat austere palate, strikingly tannic, showing a dried red fruit profile with tobacco leaf with a similar flavor profile on a moderate length finish. Seemed somewhat thin and closed even. Too young? Others liked it more than me.
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12/5/2010 - dmalcolm wrote: 92 Points
A perfect bottle with a mid-neck fill. Medium bodied with currants, dark fruits, smoke and pencil lead. Still some firm tannins.
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10/6/2010 - CellarBord wrote: 92 Points
Opened up after 1.5 hours in the decanter. Nice depth and complexity. Still has tannins to resolve, however a treat to drink right now. No off aromas or TCA.
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10/2/2010 - Mark wrote: flawed
Damaged bottle, cork fell apart while trying to extract. Wine was oxidized and completely undrinkable.
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9/16/2010 - depdoc wrote: 91 Points
Good color with no signs of aging. Minimal tannins with dark fruit, especially cranberry. Smooth with a long finish.
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9/6/2010 - curtr wrote: 92 Points
Decanted 1.5 hours, no TCA, earthy, lovely wine with many years ahead.
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6/12/2010 - Whistler wrote: 90 Points
Tasted on two occasions within 4 months. A good wine but it lacked the intensity that I expected and I have found this with other 86's except Margaux. It just seemed to be veering towards becoming slightly lean albeit in a refined way. Could not help but feel slightly disappointed; especially with four more left.
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3/22/2010 - beachbum wrote: 92 Points
at an offline, still very young, concentrated rustic cab, good fruit/acid balance, tannis still grippy, leave for 10 yrs still, was nicer than the LLC with it
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2/6/2010 - winenuts wrote: 90 Points
i tried two bottles, both decant for 1 and 1/2 hour then drink, the 2nd bottles after decanting for 3-4 hours seems be better than at first. Will try to decant more time when I have my third bottle. Nice wine but not great.
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12/21/2009 - SimonG wrote: flawed
Keith's Christmas Ledbury Bash (The Ledbury, London): Flat nose. A touch of wood on the attack. i think this has a little TCA. Chewy 86 tannins without the fruit it should have to balance. Off.
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12/5/2009 - jarjarbinx99 wrote: 92 Points
Poivron vert, cuir, tannins encore bien présent, mais intégré. Petite note fumé en finale bien plaisante. Peu être un léger manque de matière que l'on peut s'attendre pour cette appellation. 92.
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11/26/2009 - drwine2001 wrote:
Medium ruby with some gentle fading. Classic nose of black fruit, cedar, and a touch of herb. Medium to light weight, crisp, a pleasant touch of austerity and bitterness, but the tannins are well along the way to resolution. Good ripeness but no excess sweetness at all here. Excellent and probably at or close to a plateau that should be long lasting.
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9/29/2009 - Rupert wrote: flawed
Ducru-Beaucaillou 1961 to 2004 over dinner (Hawksmoor, Spitalfields, London): Another badly corked bottle
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6/30/2009 - EyeDoc wrote: 94 Points
Showing great - smooth finish.
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6/25/2009 - keithd wrote: 95 Points
Decanted 2 hours before drinking, by which time the nose had opened up remarkably: warm, rich, cedary, with rich red fruit. Extraordinary in the mouth: full, unctuous, soft tanins, rounded structure; good fruit and gentle spices. Long aftertaste [30 seconds+], leaving a great sense of satisfaction and pleasure. A very fine wine, and I'm sorry I have no more. Good to share it with guests who knew what they were drinking.
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6/13/2009 - tbabes wrote: 90 Points
The fill was into the neck and the cork was sound. Opened about 5 hours prior to dinner; no decant, just re-inserted the cork. A murky purpe-ruby core, turning to garnet at the rim. Rather shy on the nose -- a bit disappointing, actually -- reluctantly revealing hints of pencil shavings, dark fruits and crushed rose petal. More impressive on the palate, with fine concentration of fruit, good acidity, classic structure, but some slightly drying and astringent tannins on the finish. Went very well with the Prime dry-aged NY Strip Steaks; this is a wine that positively needs food. It did improve over the course of the evening, and eventually hit its stride about 8 hours after pulling the cork, so it shoud age for many years to come.
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5/26/2009 - reichken wrote: 95 Points
1986 Bordeaux Night @ The Hawksmoor: what a sneaky lady this was, a temptress....bottle gave up a red fruit candy nose, with some grapit. in the mouth it was bright and juicy red fruits, minerals , lead pencil and silky smooth tannins. very long very seductive, perfect balance.really great bottle of ducru. for me it was tied for WOTN with the Palmer and i think this bottle right now gave the first growths a run for their money.
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4/18/2009 - starkravingmad wrote: 90 Points
Decanted each bottle for one hour. Group of 8 tasting. Very smooth and silky. Surprisingly very little sediment. Nose of earthy minerals, ash. Extremely clean, dry finish. Flavor diminishing. Likely past its prime by 2-3 years. Drink now.
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3/29/2009 - pepmi wrote: flawed
Corked and noticeable to all.
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12/25/2008 - THT wrote: 93 Points
Robe sombre. Je crains une légère déviance à l'ouverture, mais un long carafage arrange les choses. Surgit un vin superbe, racé, à la fois dense, profond et en même temps froid. Une anné chaude sur un terroir froid ? En tous les cas, un vin superbe, encore loin de son apogée.
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12/10/2008 - mnh wrote: flawed
Corked! bummer
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10/21/2008 - blanquito wrote:
1986 Bordeaux in NYC: On the Ducru-Beaucaillou, I got a nose of green banana, black tea, some sweetness. It had the best bouquet of the flight. Awesome on the back-end/finish. Bright acids. Improved with air.
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8/18/2008 - TuckerTini wrote: 96 Points
The last one. As good as the rest. Fully integrated tannins, smooth as silk., little sediment. Dark fruit, some cherry, tobacco, and grilled meat. Drank at Capital Grille. All the waiters and the sommelier stopped by the table. Decanted for 45 min.
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8/3/2008 - Alex H wrote: 92 Points
Ducru Vertical (Lam Soon): Savory marmite intermixed with sweet cassis and black/blue fruits….throw in some chocolatey cocoa powder / dry earth too. Very infused and focused (but not sharp) nose that packs a padded punch. I just love the nose on this. Savory “al dente” ripe blackcurrant fruits with good length and staying power. Clean and dry finish.
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8/2/2008 - Paul S wrote: 91 Points
Ducru Beaucaillou Vertical (1978, '85, '86, '95 and '96, with a few extras) (Richfield, Lam Soon Building, Singapore): 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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8/1/2008 - binkybonky wrote: 88 Points
Elegeant & subtle. Meaty pencil lead all over. Ultimately pleasurable. Drink now. Tannins more than approachable.
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3/1/2008 - aof wrote: 89 Points
Ducru-Beaucaillou Vertical and a Mystery Wine (Rochester, MN): Classic nose of earth, tobacco and damp earth. Very similar flavor profile to the '85, but showed more acids and tannins consistent with the vintage. I doubt this will evolve further, but it should hold for quite a while.
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2/13/2008 - babnik wrote:
Excellent. Cherry fruit with loads of menthol, wood smoke, graphite. Though it certainly has plenty of life left, I'm scheduling my remaining bottle for 2009.
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1/4/2008 - antiwood wrote: flawed
corked
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11/22/2007 - SBA Guru wrote: 92 Points
Nice matuer Bordeaux
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10/20/2007 - scxt wrote:
Interesting nose, a little dead on the palate (though we didn't let sit very long). Still, very enjoyable older wine.
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10/9/2007 - chrisab14 wrote: 96 Points
Drank at KOMI restaurant with the degustazion. Nice balance but still seemed somewhat young to me. Very dark color, inky. Cassis and mint nose with some good licorice and tabacco. A very enjoyable wine that I wish I had more of.
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9/15/2007 - SBA Guru wrote: 94 Points
Better than last bottle. Smooth, decanted 3 hours, improved next day.
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8/18/2007 - SBA Guru wrote: 94 Points
Nice wine, mature and beautiful, part of a big night of bordeaux for birthday.
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6/9/2007 - TuckerTini wrote: flawed
Bad cork. A no go but drank anyway. Complained to broker, thankfully being replaced with something else.
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4/23/2007 - dream wrote: 88 Points
Still very good color. Classic Ducru nose of tobacco and blackberries with smoky slate. Puzzling at first because it's lighter-bodied and not very tannic especially for an '86 but it improved in the glass for hours and began to show a silky smoothness and real elegance and symmetry. At one point, though, I thought it was slightly corked but that sense blew off over time. After 4 hours, I would say this is a nice Ducru that shows the vineyard's classic elegance and flavors but the soft tannins are slightly astringent and the level of concentration is weak for a Ducru of this age. Still, it paired beautifully with a bbq'd porterhouse. I'll have to try another bottle because there is a chance it was very slightly corked.
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4/2/2007 - fppiceo wrote:
Very woody. I believe this wine is fading fast if not done already.
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3/18/2007 - honest bob wrote: 89 Points
Powerful colour, barely fading to rim. Moderate cedar and tobacco nose; slightly closed taste, astringent, tannic and a little bitter. 89P?
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3/11/2007 - agbailey wrote:
Very nice bottle, elegant, nuanced. Maybe a bit past its peak, but delicious nevertheless. Ruby / dark ruby in color. Layered flavors and nose. Medium bodied with a medium to medium -long finish. Last bottle, but if I had more would be drinking up. Also, this was decanted ... I might try without decanting first to see if it has more power. That said, it did seem to pick up more weight as the night wore on.
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2/16/2007 - SBA Guru wrote: 92 Points
Smooth and balanced, decanted 2 hours, even better 2nd day
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2/12/2007 - SBA Guru wrote: 92 Points
Bad cork, but wine was fortunately unharmed. Decanted for an hour filtered out cork bits. Very smooth wine medium body with balanced fruit, fully integrated as expected for a 20 year old bordeaux. Drink it now. Glad have 4 bottles left to enjoy.
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10/28/2006 - LarryF wrote: 89 Points
Well integrated wne. Smooth is a good description that was used before. It doesn't knock you over as a WOW wine but I'm glad that I have 10 left to enjoy.
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10/6/2006 - fppiceo wrote: 85 Points
Cork was wet and fell apart. A lot of wood on this wine. Fruit was muted. Overall wine was enjoyable however not a keeper. Drink it now...
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8/24/2006 - wineismylife wrote: 91 Points
WIML91,WA92,WS95
No formal notes. I wasn’t as impressed with this wine as some others. I thought the nose of a bit muted and the palate still a bit too tannic. Good Bordeaux but not a “WOW” wine for me.
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8/24/2006 - win wrote: 94 Points
Suze Tasting (Suze, Dallas, Texas): This was like being on a classic wooden sailboat on absolutely clear, smooth water on a day that was not too cold or hot. I’ve never actually experienced this, but at least I’ve had this wine. Opened and served immediately, and this was showing very well. I hate to repeat the word “smooth” too often, but this wine was incredibly smooth with sophisticated red fruit flavors present but not overwhelming. My WOTN. 91-96
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7/7/2006 - otisabdul wrote: 93 Points
Graciously provided by wine + art at our recent offline at Kiki's Bistro. Decanted for about an hour before we dove in . An unapologetically masculine and powerful wine, with buzzsaw intesnity. I enjoyed the dark fruits and muscular finish. Not showing much in terms of secondary characteristics yet, but plenty of tannins to support such potential. I think the future is in front of this wine and would recommend holding for another 5+ years.
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7/6/2006 - grossie wrote: 93 Points
With Wine + Art, Otis, and W+A's friend Chris. Dark color, deep nose. Big deep wine, qujite fruity with a very solid core. IMO this is a great wine. I'd like to think that a few more years will allow it to really shine, but I'm concerned that the fruit may fade allowing the tannin to come out. I think this drinks great right now, so why not drink it up? If I had a bunch I'd start drinking them every 6 months from now. If I only had one I'd wait a 2-5 years to try again.
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6/17/2006 - TheGreenFrog wrote: 90 Points
Beautiful brick red colour. Nose a bit muted. Very concentrated flavour, delicate. Nice finish but not as good as you would expect from initial impression on palate. This vintage (and others) was plagued by duff bottles: this was one of the better bottles I have had.
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7/9/2005 - buckeye76 wrote: 94 Points
BLACK CURRANTS, BLACK CHERRIES, AND LEAD PENCIL IN THE NOSE WITH DEEP FRUIT IN THE FLAVOR, BLACK CHERRIES AND CURRANTS. MEDIUM TO LONG FINISH.
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7/5/2005 - amred wrote: 88 Points
7/99 (Tasting): Group did not care for..as most of 86's. Seemed hard, and not well-balanced. As with other 86's at this age, I think too young.
7/05: Now a classic Bordeaux. Not as elegant as some, but now drinking well. Still lacks elegance one might have anticipated. Also unlike 86's, not clear additional time will benefit this wine.
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2/28/2004 - otisabdul wrote: 93 Points
Tasted at an off-line in London with BirDungy and cbmac. Even darker than the '86 Pape-Clement. A seriously deep nose of cassis, black raspberry, and menthol. Smooth and sleek with well-syncopated fruit coursing through to a long finish. This wine was really showing well, but the gripping tannins on the finish and the abundance of fruit suggest that it could easily handle more cellar time. 93P and my WOTN.
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12/12/2003 - La Cave d'Argent wrote:
Tasted in double-blind fashion at Vintage Wines, Ltd. Bottle provided by Marshall Banker. Sadly, the bottle was badly corked.
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11/21/2003 - Jeff Leve wrote: 88 Points
More tannin than fruit. Hard, austere and charmless. Not a wine for pleasure seekers.
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10/15/2003 - Jeff W wrote:
MS offline. Meaty, tannic, full and heavy. Dense fruit. No better than good for me. "Backward, Tainted"
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8/8/2002 - mariow wrote: 84 Points
purpure; interesting nose; after decanting round but almost watery; hard finish
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3/1/2000 - sdr Does not like this wine: 80 Points
Dark. Oaky nose. Bitter and tannic.
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7/2/1999 - mariow wrote: 82 Points
kind of sparkling, lots of almonds with some hidden fruit
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9/18/1989 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 80 Points
1986 Cabernet Sauvignon vs. 1986 Bordeaux.
Earthy, musty, slightly sweat socks.
My #6 of 6.
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