Wine Advocate
byRobert Parkerthe2/28/1997
Ducru-Beaucaillou experienced an uncharacteristically shaky period between 1986 and 1990. The winemaking did not suffer, but the inconsistency from bottle to bottle (too many wines exhibited a musty, wet cardboard-like aroma), is history. The construction of a new cellar and replacement of every barrel has guaranteed the conditions necessary to produce trouble free wines. Ducru is on a roll, with fine efforts over recent vintages, including an exceptional 1994, spectacular 1995, and what looks to be an equally profound, super-concentrated 1996. Wow, does this wine have explosive richness and ripeness! Showing even better than it did last spring, the opaque purple color, and the fabulously sweet, jammy nose of black fruits, minerals, and flowers is followed by an atypically fat, large-scaled, structured, medium to full-bodied Ducru-Beaucaillou that is crammed with fruit. With an inner-core of sweetness, glycerin, and richness, this is a marvelously well-made, compelling example of Ducru-Beaucaillou, the likes of which Ducru's fans have not had since the other-worldly 1982. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2025.