Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 1990

The 1990 is a dark ruby-colored wine with a forward bouquet of oak, minerals, and cassis, attractive ripeness, firm tannins, excellent concentration and density, and a powerful, tannic, long finish. It is very closed and requires considerable patience. Anticipated maturity: 1999-2015. Last tasted, 5/93. NOTE: A few examples of the 1990 Ducru have revealed the scent of cardboard intermingled with the wine's rich mineral and cassis aromas. Other bottles have been totally clean.

A pleasant red but slightly papery, with mineral, berry and cardboard aromas. Medium-bodied, with silky tannins and a medium, papery finish. — 1990 Bordeaux retrospective. Drink now. 17,000 cases made.

The 2012 Ducru-Beaucaillou smells of Cabernet-Sauvignon with liquorice, plum, blackcurrant, as well as animal and earthy notes. The palate is medium-bodied with harsh tannins and tangy acidity. I think that storage problems tainted some of the production.

Not corked, but off. The wine at best was both dull and dumb, with hints of cassis, tobacco and earth. There wasn’t much going on, and what little there was wasn’t exactly worth seeking out. This wine was produced during a period when there was contamination in their storage houses. I would not buy this wine.

Pure hedonism: blackcurrant leaf, sour cherries, bay leaf, woody spice, cedar. Firm on the attack with fleshy tannins, tightly knit and dense, yet always in a medium-bodied register. Builds tremendous intensity, with a spectacular, compact and closed presentation, a dense, extract-rich finish, and a long, taut arc of acidity. A final reminiscence of the style of the 60s and 70s.

91: Barrel sample (17/20): fine nuances on the nose, floral, almost reminiscent of a Margaux. Soft palate, fine tannins, lingonberries. It seems to me it didn’t fully realize its possible 90-point potential. A fine but light wine. At arrival, I was startled because the idiosyncratic nose showed a slight uncleanliness. I noted cautiously; an impetuous wine that is hard to assess in its youth. The wealth of tannins clearly indicates that nothing will really happen here before the turn of the century. Then came the sobering moment, just a few days before the mentioned turn of the century in December at the Arlberg Hospiz. In the blind tasting, the wine failed completely. This cellar problem seems to have even worsened with further bottle development. In any case, I would recommend everyone to keep entirely away from the Ducru 1990. And those who already have it in their cellar can only hope for better times. Notes from the Arlberg blind tasting: dull, cellar-like bouquet, dried fruits and initial oxidation notes. On the palate, corky tones, then a fat texture, dry, leathery tannins, rough body, completely lacking harmony. There is only a faint glimmer of hope that this wine will ever bring joy. If it holds on in terms of potential, this will be in about ten years at the earliest. 00: Brightening ruby-red. Open, unclean bouquet, bouillon paste, corky, animal, slightly iodine note. On the palate, metallic, relatively hard tannins, canned tomatoes, really no fun (14/20). 02: In the meantime tasted again often. Unfortunately, almost all bottles, with very few exceptions, are stinky. But for once the rule confirms the exception. (14/20). 09: Black-berried, smoke, fairly deep. On the palate, black mushrooms, petrol notes, a certain uncleanliness but, for a ’90, still showing surprisingly high potential. Due to the dull underlying tone, decant at least a day in advance. Then it can indeed give some pleasure. (14/20). 13: Still musty and dull.

Medium brick in color, the 1990 Ducru-Beaucaillou delivers notes of sweaty leather, iodine, and cigar box, giving way to a core of kirsch, Chinese five spice, plum preserves, and fallen leaves. The light to medium-bodied palate is graceful and satiny with delicate exotic spices and dried red berries flavors, finishing long and fragrant. Readers should note that this vintage fell within an inconsistent period at Ducru-Beaucaillou. The cellar is likely to have fallen victim to TCA or a TCA-like taint, and it appears some bottles were impacted from 1986 to 1994. By 1995, the chateau had a completely new vat room/cellar, and the problem ceased. Therefore, there could be some bottle variation affecting this vintage. This bottle, however, was pristine, having come directly from the château.

The wine shows a nose of ripe fruit often tainted by mushroom notes. The palate is soft, fruity, but medium in body and length. This wine should have been drunk.

The wine is dense, but lacks brightness and precision. A bottle issue?