Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 1996

I tasted the 1996 Ducru Beaucaillou on four separate occasions from bottle in January. The 1996 is long, with a deep mid-palate. It also reveals tannin in the finish. This wine is remarkable. It is muscular, concentrated, and classic. Bottled in late June, 1998, it exhibits a saturated ruby/purple color, as well as a knock-out nose of minerals, licorice, cassis, and an unmistakable lead pencil smell that I often associate with top vintages of Lafite-Rothschild. It is sweet and full-bodied, yet unbelievably rich with no sense of heaviness or flabbiness. The wine possesses high tannin, but it is extremely ripe, and the sweetness of the black currant, spice-tinged Cabernet Sauvignon fruit is pronounced. This profound, backward Ducru-Beaucaillou is a must purchase. It will be fascinating for readers who own the 1996 to follow the evolution of this exceptional vintage. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2035.

Intense aromas of cedar, vanilla, leather and blackberry. Full-bodied, with coffee, vanilla, ripe fruit and a medium finish. Just about ready. The 1995 is certainly better.--'95/'96 Bordeaux retrospective. Drink now. 18,000 cases made.

With alcoholic and animal aromas, the bouquet of the 1996 Ducru-Beaucaillou appears to have contained phenols. However, the palate is juicy and fleshy, but the tannins are grippier than expected and the texture a bit lean.

The Ducru 1996 is less extravagant than the 2000. It shows a full body, with firm tannins and pretty floral, leaf, light earth and berry character. Needs drinking. 90 points

The 1996 Ducru-Beaucaillou is a vintage that I have not tasted for a number of years. Matured in two-thirds new oak, it has an open and expressive bouquet, a mixture of red and black fruit, estuarine scents, touches of liquorice emerging with time. It is higher-toned than the 1995 with iodine evolving with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent tannins, fresh acidity, quite sweet in the mouth and maybe like the 1995, just missing that complexity and terroir expression that I think has defined recent vintages from this estate. Maybe it is slightly compromised by some Merlot (25%) that was picked a but later, but still, there is a lot of pleasure to be found in this 1996. Tasted at the Ducru Beaucaillou vertical at the château.

The best bottle from the case offered everything you’d want from a mature example of Ducru Beaucaillou. Refined textures, notes of tobacco leaves, cherries, cassis, spice, dried flowers, herbs, and a juicy-mouthful of blackberries, wrapped inside the elegance that can only come from the patina of age. No decanting needed. Drink from 2024-2040.

Medium garnet-purple, showing the first signs of maturity. Incredibly sweet bouquet: dark caramel, a subtle buttery touch, hazelnut pralines, seductive toasted notes. No primary fruit left, perhaps a bit showy, lacking some individuality, but already very pleasing. Velvety, creamy palate with lots of juiciness; again plenty of chocolate notes, blending with an earthy mature tone.

97: Barrel sample (18/20): Powerful elderflower bouquet, very ripe fruit, expansive yet delicate at the same time, cedar notes, plums. Juicy palate, again with jammy contours; all components are ripe and bound together in unique harmony. 99: Deep garnet, bright with a ruby rim. Delicate bouquet scented with precious woods, a fine plum note within, discreet but pleasantly measured sweetness, fine pencil-lead nuances, cherry tones. Enormously velvety on the palate, round, plush tannins, persistent yet balanced astringency; only on the finish does the still maturity-seeking structure come through. The finale is typically cedary, and the overall aromatic profile suggests this is a classic, long-lived Ducru. (18/20). 02: Medium garnet-purple, first hints of maturity. Insanely sweet bouquet, dark caramel, a fine buttery touch, hazelnut pralines, seductive toasty notes; no primary fruit left—perhaps a bit showy and lacking some of its own character, but it already seems intent on pleasing. Velvety, creamy palate, lots of juice; again plenty of chocolate notes mixing with an earthy mature tone. Not a wine for the day after tomorrow, but one that is in full flow today. 06: Tasted blind at Hannes Ehrenhöfer’s and then also drunk. Delivers immediate pleasure and tastes wonderfully good—so typically Ducru! (18/20). 09: 1996 Ducru-Beaucaillou: Warm bouquet, a hint of dried fruit, still showing discreet caramel notes in the background. Still very young on the palate, with some autumn mushrooms. Completely closed by its current constellation and hard to digest at the moment. Wait! Potential rating: (18/20?). 11: The colour is lightening quite a bit, yet shows little maturity. The nose starts with a subtle question mark: musty outline, chicken stock paste; behind that, red, slightly sweet fruit and vanillin from the barriques. The palate, too, carries an almost imperceptible lack of cleanliness within it, with tired tannins. A second bottle was a bit better, but still not great. Even on the last encounter I had written down the word “mushrooms”. A difficult phase? Best to wait! 15: Medium wine-red with the first, very delicate hint of maturity. Classic, very spicy bouquet showing many different precious woods, especially cedar, teak and light tobacco. The nose is regal and almost fully open. On the palate, finely peppery; its filigree acidity gives it wonderful length, and the tannins are finely spread. On the second sip you taste venison and truffle nuances. It sits between fading fruit and emerging terroir. Two hours of decanting does it good. (18/20). 16: It has overcome its in-between phase. For me, at a 1996 blind tasting in Faugères it wasn’t the greatest wine, but it was the most beautiful. 21: Extremely dark, almost black in the centre. The bouquet almost knocked me over—because I hadn’t expected that much based on earlier encounters. Above all, it clearly shows what’s in the glass: a great Ducru, classic Médoc and impressive Bordeaux all in one breath. The nose is somehow discreet and intoxicating at once, very multi-layered: Graham bread, cedar, prune compote, a hint of vanilla. Beautifully balanced on the palate, fine tannins, mild astringency, focused finale. I’ve never had it this good in the glass and, honestly, I wouldn’t have credited it with such a promising evolution based on earlier tastings. Unfortunately it now costs well over 200 francs. I have it in my cellar at “half price”, i.e. 100 francs. That makes the owner exceedingly happy! This bottle: 19/20!

One of the great old school vintages of late 20th century Bordeaux, underestimated at the time because its tannic heft kept everything closed for a good decade or more. We are joining it now, at 27 years old, as everything is just smoothing out, the tannins still present but welcoming and supple, holding on to cassis, bilberry, black cherry, sage, white truffle, cloves, star anise, charcoal and mint that captures the essence of the vintage in St Julien. It was also a moment in the Médoc when there was a profound shift from the traditional way of winemaking, and here at Ducru there was a new winery that had been in place since 1995, and Eric Boissenot was just joining the consulting team, working alongside his father Jacques.

The 1996 Ducru-Beaucaillou, tasted at the chateau, is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot. Deep garnet-brick in color, scents of black cherries, redcurrant jelly, and pencil lead jump from the glass, leading to hints of Ceylon tea and clove oil. The medium-bodied palate has a velvety texture framing the delicate black and red fruit layers, with a lively backbone and a long, spicy finish.

The last vintage under Jean-Eugène Borie’s stewardship, this 1996 is wonderfully radiant. Brimming with freshness, taut yet generous, it stands out as one of the vintage’s great successes.

Ruby red. An elegant bouquet of medium intensity, with notes of blackcurrant and blackberry. On the palate, the wine is fruity on the attack and of medium intensity. The late emergence of the tannins, along with the refinement of the structure, is surprising. The wine therefore seems a little denser than on the attack and shows greater dynamism than I expected. I’m banking on patience, as the wine will certainly become even more approachable and better balanced, given its potential.

Logo on the cork: an inverted T (Trescases) Bad bottle Dark colour, good intensity, showing evolution. Discreet nose, lively and animal. Round on the attack, then hollow on the mid-palate, finishing with harsh tannins. Another bad bottle!