Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 1961

Tasted 6 times with consistent notes Fully mature, yet continuing to exhibit gobs of rich, lush, expansive fruit, the 1961 has amber/orange edges and shows an exotic bouquet of ripe fruit, vanillin, caramel, mint, and cedar. Fat, rich, and loaded with sweet, highly extracted fruit, this velvety, beautifully crafted wine has a 60–75 second finish. It is a brilliant wine that should hold up nicely for up to a decade. Anticipated maturity: now–2005.

A classy Bordeaux from a great year. It smells perfumed and exotic, tastes plush, velvety and rich with complex flavors. Has great balance and good length. Can age through at least 2002, but may be at its peak now.--1961 Bordeaux horizontal.

This bottle of 1961 Ducru-Beaucaillou is exceptional, with a delicate and refined bouquet of bacon, ash, red berries, tobacco, cedar, and graphite with air. Long and delicate, the palate is perfectly balanced and medium-bodied, with impressive freshness and tension on the finish. A real beauty! Enjoy it now, although it can be cellared for another two to four years.

It has been four years since I last encountered the 1961 Ducru-Beaucaillou. This bottle had impeccable provenance: bought on release by Tour d'Argent restaurant in Paris, which eventually sold part of its cellar at auction. This is a magnificent Saint-Julien with a little more bricking on the rim than previous bottles, yet the nose is compelling with plenty of black fruit intertwined with Japanese nori, cedar and antique bureau, plus just a touch of swimming pool that you often find with 1961s. Wonderful delineation, and it blossoms in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied, so fresh and vital with finely sculpted tannins. A little muscular initially, it gradually gains more and more composure with tobacco and sandalwood towards the finish. It has softened in recent years, mellowed, less stentorian than before, perhaps now just a small step down from its very lofty peak. Tasted at the 1961 dinner at Ami restaurant in Hong Kong.

A stunning example that hit all of its marks, starting with its haunting perfume loaded with tobacco, mushrooms, cedar chest, leather, currants, mint leaf, and cherries. Full-bodied, concentrated, and balanced perfectly between its regal character and layers of still vibrant, earthy, ripe, red fruits. The finish stuck its mark with close to 60 seconds of pleasure in every sip. A good bottle is a majestic tasting experience. Drink from 2023-2035.

Medium ruby, good depth of colour, broader brightening on the rim. Delicately vegetal, dark caramel, fine roasted aromas, somewhat brittle tannins, but equipped with convincing sweetness on the finish, some toffee on the aftertaste, unfortunately not quite a perfect bottle, which would have been a lot of fun without the faint cork taint.

Strongly lightened, brownish garnet with orange highlights. On the nose, a gorgeous bouquet of nuts, cedar, Dominican tobacco and plums, discreet yet very complex. Delicately structured palate, again a plummy sweetness with dried-fruit notes in a slender yet melting extract, herbal tones, very long finish, noble, majestic elegance.

The start in 1988 was promising (19/20): still seems closed (decant?). Hinted complexity, full but not heavy body. Superb structure and tremendous length. And again a sensational bottle in 1992: pencil lead, cedar scent, Cohiba cigar aroma. So fine and so perfect at the same time. The most elegant concentrate I’ve had since the ’53 Lafite and the ’61 Palmer. Then three tired bottles followed and I seriously wondered whether the peak drinking window was already over. By now I feel that this great wine, illogically, went through another small closed phase after 30 years (!). When I open this “most delicate temptation since Bordeaux has existed” now and then, I decant it half an hour beforehand. Drunk with Philippe Castéja (Ch. Batailley) in 2000 at Restaurant Sempacherhof and rated 19/20: the bouquet is fine, delicate, smelling of Dominican tobacco and sweet prunes, showing so many facets that you’d almost like to spend a long time just breathing in this filigreed terroir scent. On the palate, velvety, creamy, with a dancing structure that’s barely perceptible and wrapped in an elegance no floating supermodel could imitate. A ballet wine you never forget, provided you’re not an anvil drinker and you have a soft spot for wines of finesse. 01: Strongly lightened, brownish garnet with orange reflections. Dreamy bouquet smelling of nuts, cedar, Dominican tobacco and plums; discreet yet very complex. Delicately built palate, again a plummy sweetness reminiscent of dried fruit in a slender yet melting extract, herbal tones, very long and noble finish with majestic elegance. (19/20). 09: Open and reminiscent of La Tâche, cumin, cloves, currants, dense and endowed with a dry terroir sweetness. On the palate still surprisingly firm, clear remaining tannins that guarantee this fleshy wine many more decades of enjoyment. (20/20). 11: Clear maturity notes with a brick-red rim. Woody notes with a lovely earthy sweetness, slightly artisanal, becomes increasingly cleaner in air. Slightly malty palate, soft acidity, shows grace with a velour-like texture, almost creamy, great length. (19/20). 11: Lightening rusty red. I was there during decanting and, while being carefully poured, the wine smelled of sweet raisins, plums and light chanterelles. Two hours later it began with figs and curry and continued with an irrepressible sweetness. On the palate, dancing—which for a ’61 sounds illogical—finely juicy, showing superb balance, endlessly long. This is Bordeaux that never satiates, only makes you addicted! (19/20). 14: Medium-dark garnet with orange and also brick-red reflections. Warm, sweet bouquet, organic malt notes, dried dates, fig syrup; underneath it shows a fragile note reminiscent of autumn leaves, cough syrup, red vermouth. On the palate very mineral, earth-iron tone; despite its pronounced maturity there is also a certain strictness; ends with herbs, malt and reduced pear juice and the finish has a touch of a wonderful cold roast gravy. A very mature bottle that held extremely long in air. Close to 20/20. 16: Clearly lightening, mature but still showing red reflections inside. Great, expansive and sweet bouquet, a hint of dried fruits and roasted coffee, as well as subtly meaty notes in the background. On the palate a slightly salient acidity that will probably preserve it and thus gives it a possible last dash of breed and—above all—a fairly powerful push on the finish. Ducru is rarely equipped with so much power on the finish. Overall, the nose is a shade more appealing than the palate. It was a wonderful bottle.

Deep, dense, spicy, powerful bouquet: cedar, stable, currants, Cabernet spice, tobacco. Dense, finely muscular, aromatic palate with a concentrated structure, good tannins, dark aromatics, long, dense finish. 19/20 to drink

The 1961 Ducru-Beaucaillou, tasted at the chateau, is medium to deep brick in color. It opens with amazingly youthful, fragrant suggestions of cherry cordial, creme de cassis, rose oil, and spearmint, followed by touches of sandalwood and cigar box. The medium to full-bodied palate is rich and velvety, with a refreshing backbone to counter all that spicy fruit, finishing long and perfumed.