2016 Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou, Saint-Julien, Bottle (750ml)

JD100 "An absolute legendary wine that's as good as anything out there, the 2016 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou is reminiscent of the 2010, yet perhaps with a touch more opulence. A total blockbuster of a wine, it offers huge minerality as well as pure crème de cassis, liquid violets, graphite, and hints of tobacco that all emerge on the nose, and this fabulous Ducru-Beaucaillou is full-bodied, massively concentrated, and structured, yet somehow never loses its overarching sense of purity, balance, and elegance. This ultra-classic beauty deserves another decade of bottle age and will evolve gracefully for another 3-4 decades. Hats off to proprietor Bruno Borie for another incredible achievement." JD Oct 2023
br> JS99 Super perfumed, attractive violets with a thread of fresh blueberries, cassis, blackberries and dark plums, delivering a very enticing impression. Beautiful ripeness here. The tannins are perfectly ripe and layers meld into each other, carrying deep, graceful and plush, velvety dark fruit long into the vibrant and seductive, chocolate-laced finish. Great potential.
br> DR99 Hugely different in personality from the 2015, this is powerful and sombre. It's inky in colour and feel, with black olive, liquorice and cigar smoke alongside cinnamon, black pepper and Cabernet character of blackcurrant bud. This is intense and powerful and is going to keep on delivering through the years, thanks to its stunning ageing capacity. This is first-growth quality, and it has claws and is not afraid to use them. 100% new oak.