1986 | Château Ducru-Beaucaillou | Saint-Julien

Blackberry, mint and black pepper abound here. The palate has serious structure, with an emphasis on liquorice, restrained vanilla, cedar and earth. It's still pretty concentrated and voluptuous.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: Medium brick in color with a touch of brown, the 1986 Ducru-Beaucaillou reveals growing notes of dried mulberries, kirsch and raisin cake with nuances of celery salt, dried bay leaves, truffles and charcuterie plus hints of old leather sofa and fallen leaves. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has quite a powerful structure with firm, chewy tannins and bold freshness supporting the muscular, dried berries flavors, finishing long with a dried mint kick.

• John Gilman: The wine offers up a pure, precise and very deep nose of sweet cassis, cigar ash, a very complex base of gravelly soil tones, a nice touch of cedar and a topnote of cigar wrapper. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and tangy, with outstanding focus and bounce, a lovely core of fruit, ripe, well-measured tannins and a long, complex and very soil-driven finish. This is a classic vintage of Ducru-Beaucaillou in the making, and the re-released bottles are stellar. The wine is just starting to drink, but like so many of the top 1986 wines from the Médoc, it still has room to grow and would continue to benefit from further cellaring.

Producer Information

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou is a well-regarded wine estate in the Saint-Julien appellation of Bordeaux's Haut-Médoc wine region, on the so-called "left bank" of the Gironde estuary. The estate and its eponymous grand vin (the estate's principle wine) was rated a second growth in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification. It is often described as the quintessential Saint-Julien – deeply colored and powerfully ripe, yet balanced and harmonious. The grand vin usually needs 10 years of aging and can last for decades. A second wine, Croix de Beaucaillou, is also produced from the Ducru vineyard. The 75-hectare (185-acre) vineyard is situated in the southeast of the appellation, north of the village of Beychevelle and bordering Branaire-Ducru and Beychevelle to the south, with Léoville and Langoa Barton to the north. The Ducru-Beaucaillou château and estate lies relatively close to the broad Gironde estuary, which moderates the local microclimate and gives some protection from frost and hail. On the deeper gravel layers of the vineyard there is enhanced drainage, evening warmth, and a protective layer stopping the subsoil from drying out in heat waves. Alluvial deposits and a high clay content enrich the soil, and the vineyard takes its name from these "beautiful stones". It is planted 70 percent to Cabernet Sauvignon and 30 percent to Merlot. Grapes are sorted in the vineyard on mobile tables to promptly separate out any unhealthy grapes, and specific vineyard plots are vinified separately. Barrel-ageing uses between 50-80 percent new wood, depending on the vintage. The château is unusual for the region in being built directly over the wine cellars, and in that it is still inhabited by the family who own the estate. The Borie family also own the châteaux Lalande-Borie in Saint-Julien and Ducluzeau in Listrac-Médoc. The estate also produces a second wine, La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou – a blend of 60 percent Cabernet Sauvignon with the remainder Merlot and a little Petit Verdot. The third wine, Le Petit Ducru, inverts these proportions and is 60 percent Merlot with around 35 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and the remainder, Petit Verdot.

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