Dark and layered, it liked to breathe — a month ago
1998 vintage. Cork a little dry near the bottom so called out the Durand for a rescue. Less meniscus than expected. Dusty, earthy nose. Medium body. Heaps of allspice/sandalwood, prunes and baking chocolate hovering about in the medicinal/oily nose and (mostly) in the flavor profile. Ridiculously reminiscent of an aged (‘80’s-‘90’s) Branaire-Ducru St. Julien BDX. So much so that, if blind tasting, that is the guess. This is gliding along. No highs or lows to navigate currently. Not a showstopper by any means but one helluva ringer in a blind tasting. Some bretty influences here and there but nothing warranting a red card/dq. Picked up slightly more body and a noticeable cinnamon/clove note on the finish after being open for an hour. Also...some muddiness along with a sudden frontal-palate richness (at the 1.5 hours open mark) reminiscent of Petit Verdot involvement/influence. WTF?!?! Bring it! 4.21.24. — 5 months ago
What a delicious 16 year old Bordeaux from Saint Julien.
Dark ruby in color with a wide brick rim.
Full-bodied with medium acidity.
Dry on the palate with nice complexity.
Showing black fruits with cedar, licorice, coffee, light earth, herbs, spices, tobacco leaf and dark chocolates.
Elegant and easy drinking once it opens up. Needs 3 hours.
This second wine is drinking very nicely now, although not from a great vintage.
Good by itself as a sipping wine. Would also pair nicely with game meats or lamb dishes.
13% alcohol by volume.
92 points
$80. — 7 hours ago
Black fruit and plummy Bordeaux. From the left bank but drinks like right. Incredibly soft tannins, drinking quite well now. — 2 months ago
Robert Torretti
Lovely bottle of 1986 Ducru Beaucalliou. A little smoky and not as long as the last bottle but solid with rib chop, sautéed spinach, mushrooms Diane, and Beef Fat Fries at Hawksmoor NYC. Staff said they were going to decant and then did not. I think it would have opened more had they. Next time: insist. — 9 days ago