Ducru-Beaucaillou 2eme Cru Classe, Saint-Julien

Black cherry and cassis, a walnut note, cigar humidor, still some structure but easy to drink. Long, delicious, and no hurry. A-

1982 vintage

1982 Ducru Beaucaillou is drinking at peak perfection today. Flawlessly perched between elegance and refinement, its silky, yet regal textures deliver layers of sweet cherries, tobacco, cedar and spice. The finish just keeps on going until you need another sip, just to remind you of how good this really is. Drink from 2026-2038.

1982 vintage

Recorded at chateau around 2011. Amazing wine. WOTN. Great nose, middle fruit, finish.

1982 vintage

An impossibly looking bottle but I think it was real. From WineBid. Mid neck fill, clean capsule and label. Firm corked soaked about half way. Terrific ruby color, orange tinge at the rim. Reserved aroma of hard red fruits, cinnamon and smoke. Medium body. Stern but not unyielding; there is a modicum of cassis fruit. Persistent. Best paired with fatty meat or light spices. Mature but not fading a bit from perfectly stored bottles.

1982 vintage

Well aged Bordeaux from ex chateau and magnum. Well good condition. Toast, coffee, chocolate, vanilla, cassis. Medium+ tannin and medium+ acidity. This wine still can aged for a long time.

1995 vintage

Took an hour in the decanter to finally blow off the funk. PnP 82 points. Came a long way over the course of an hour and then a few more. This is in a great zone but felt it suffered next to the 82 Latour. Still pleasant. Give it a few hour decant.

1982 vintage

A Small Holiday Get Together : [Tasted Double Blind] This pours deep and rich medium ruby in the glass with little bricking. The nose is of blueberry, plum, violet, charcoal, fire pit, and blackberry. The palate enters on the rich velvet blueberry with medium tannin and medium acid. The finish lingers nicely on blueberry fruit. All in all, I figured this was from the late 90s, either a modernist from the Northern Rhone or Right Bank Bordeaux. Upon reveal I …

1995 vintage

Stupendous. Only got better over time. Classic Bordeaux in a wonderful older phase.

1982 vintage

Drank with the Milets at the Fat Poodle in Old Greenwich. No decant out of fear of fading fruit, which turned out to be unwarranted. Nose of cedar, cassis, and tobacco. Light to medium body, fully mature wine with good acidity. Notes of currant, cedar, tobacco, pepper, and a hint of mint. Drinking quite well after all these years, but no reason to wait further.

1982 vintage

Drank next to 1982 Cheval Blanc, Pichon and Leoville. Excellent wine but did not quite hold up to the competition.

1982 vintage

Intense and concentrated. At 30 years old, this is still coiled up pretty tightly. A core of blackberries, wet earth, licorice and herbs. Lighter bodied but with a long finish. I would give this a 3-4 hour decant next time.

1995 vintage

my first experience with this producer. bottle purchased off auction 1 year ago. based on recent reviews I opted for a brief 15min decant and then paired with grilled new york steak. Initially a bit reticent upon opening, with some funk that blew off after about an hour. Given the notes about bottle variation I wondered if my bottle was slightly off. To my surprise this bottle was singing after about 2-4hrs in the decanter. Nose of forest floor and …

1982 vintage

From a bottle released by the chateau after recorking. Tobacco, cedar and blackcurrants. Very elegant soft tannins. Medium body, good length. It did start becoming a little sweeter with air so I’m assuming it will not get better from here.

1982 vintage

very good showing, elegant and fuity nose, some tertiary notes. the palate is medium +, very elegant, silky tannins, good length. ready now

1998 vintage

Of unknown provenance but promised from a long time reputable dealer who said it was bought from a local collector who kept the bottles well-cellared. So.....the upper cork was caked with mold, but with careful extraction it was pulled out nicely, leaving 1/5 left, and clean. We decided to strain and decant. Incredible. What a gorgeous wine.! Deep red core, ever so slight bricking, almost imperceptible. Based on color alone, the three of us could not believe this was a …

1982 vintage

Left bank 1995s are really hitting their stride, and this is no exception. However, as noted by other reviewers, it needs 3+ hours in the decanter to come to life and calm the typical left bank 1995 tannins. Surprisingly, it is subtley fruited with notes of red cherry and aromatic hints of rose. This has a long life ahead of it, but it is intrinsically tightly wound, and I am unsure if time will address this.

1995 vintage

Robe relativement évoluée mais pas trop....Le bouquet est franchement complexe on passe des fruits noirs (cassis) au cèdre,au menthol,au thé,au graphite, c'est virevoltant et assertif bref on est sous le charme....Le palais est fluide sous une trame moyenne caractéristique du millésime ce qui amoindrit la note finale malgré une finale très convenable.C'est très typé St Julien avec tous les ingrédients habituels de l'appellation et malgré le fait que ce n'est pas un grand vin (96-100) cela reste néanmoins une très …

1995 vintage

1995 Bordeaux - 30 years on! (Piccolino) : Seemed simultaneously too young and too old, and never opened up in the glass. Very dry and uncompromising, in an austere, overly correct style. Dark, brooding and tannic. One for the purists, then - which appeared to include my companions, because 6/8 voted it first- or second-favourite, and it was therefore the group's #2 favourite overall.

1995 vintage

A bit over actually which was surprising. Minimal fruit

1995 vintage

1995 Bordeaux Horizontal - London, October 2025 (Piccolino, Exchange Square, London) : 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot. Cassis, sweet earth and Rooibos tea mark the nose here; so much going on. With air some perfumed, a touch of roasted chestnut and a little Biscoff biscuit crumb. Coming back at the end of the evening a touch of bresaola meatiness too. Palate is rich long and classy with a cracking spicy core. Cassis and rosehip …

1995 vintage

First 30 minutes were really interesting. Even balance of leather cassis, and even bright cherries. First pour was a deep brown/Brickish color. Comes off as absolutely classic Bordeaux. After about two hours, the leather and smoky notes started to take over with almost a bourbon like finish. Very interesting. A lot of tertiary development throughout the experience. For it’s age, it held great.

1982 vintage

Fabulous performance in an underrated vintage. Certainly at its peak, but expecting it to stay there for a few more years. Very complex: cedar, pencil shavings, stewed strawberries, mint...I could have smelled my glass all night long. On the palate, it's a little leaner than in a top vintage, but it has class, freshness and length. Beautiful wine. Enjoy now or over the next 3 years.

2013 vintage

Drank together with 1995 Château Léoville Las Cases. No detailed notes takes. Both wines showed well, as expected. Well in their drinking window, but no need to rush.

1995 vintage

As usual, firm and severe. But that tight kernel of hard cranberry fruit is there and by no means fading. Nicely balanced with tannin and acidity, too. Definitely enjoyable if your expectations are realistic.

1982 vintage

Decanted 2+ hours. The epitome of elegant, mature claret. No browning at all around the ruby edges. Subtle purity of cassis, violets, cedar and minerals on the nose. A touch more oak than expected on the palate putting the fruit ever so slightly in the back seat. This seemed to rectify after 3+ hours. Surprisingly powerful tannins that also somewhat calmed by the 4th hour. Very complex finish. Most blind tasters guessed that appellation but thought this was a 15–20-year-old …

1995 vintage

Disappointing

1995 vintage

It was alive and in its peak. Beautiful tertiary aromas - cedar, tobacco, leather. Medium to medium plus body. It was smooth. Fruits were still vivid.

1998 vintage

This shows a beautiful balance of structure and layered silkiness. Taut with good intensity for the vintage and the finish shows a lovely complexity with notes of cedar spice, minerals and a nutty crunch. Very elegant for the vintage and it should hold here for years.

1995 vintage

Outstanding. Gave about 2 hours decant. Rich fruit on the body, smooth palate. Wine of the night for most.

1982 vintage

It's a Big Birthday Celebration (Tilia, Mpls) : Small pour. This had a 2 hour decant. I thought this was showing pretty well with the air. That said, it isn't really truly ready to play yet. Not shocking for Ducru in a vintage like '95.

1995 vintage

Last bottle, stored in one of my Liebherrs, decanted, waited for 45 minutes and enjoyed wine over 3.5 hrs. Wine needed about 1.5 hrs to open up nicely and was then medium bodied, showed good fruit and was elegant enough as one would expect from this chateau. In contrast to my previous bottle this one was an unexpected positive surprise.

1998 vintage

blue fruit. Time to finish holdings over the next 5years.

1995 vintage

After a flawed bottle this was back on track. Without doubt, a 50 years+ wine, this is fully integrated and tertiary, and for myself the greatest from the estate over the last 60 years, (anecdotally the 1959 is the yardstick,). Tasting notes as previous. Interestingly it does benefit from time in the glass to blow off cellar funk and over acidity on the finish.

1982 vintage

Philippe Comes to Town; 8/1/2025-8/3/2025 : Luxurious blue fruits on the palate framed by oak. Powerful, young and unevolved, still very primary with intense tannic grip balanced by a sharp cut of acidity. Just a hint of pyrazine. Decadent now but more age will bring greater complexity.

1995 vintage

Presents as relatively young. Tannin and structure still providing grip. Lots of earth and leather, along with dried rose petals on the nose. Not compelling. Straighforward, not displaying a lot of complexity.

1982 vintage

Magnificent! Decanted before serving about 45 minutes later. An elegant wine with such a beautiful nose, you almost didn't need to drink it but when tasted provided the perfect example of a beautiful, well-aged Bordeaux. Good fruit, well-balanced, soft tannins, and still fresh, no sign of aging. My last bottle, drink it now if you have some, I can't imagine it getting any better.

1995 vintage

Drank in London A real beauty

1982 vintage

Still young and somewhat primary. A very nice drink, but for well stored bottles (this was bought on release), I'd wait a bit to open another.

1995 vintage

2hr decant more than adequate. Well balanced. Drinking very well now.

1995 vintage

If you like a great Cuban cigar dripping with cassis, you came to the right place. Add nuances of mint, cedar, and peppery spice with a chewy mouthful of sweet, spicy currants in a refined, but meaty manner, and you get the idea. Fully mature, no decanting needed, just pop, pour and enjoy classic Bordeaux at its best. Drink from 2025-2035.

1982 vintage

Corked

1982 vintage

I don't know what to think exactly. Some old wine funk on the initial nose but that mostly blew off and was manageable on the palate. Not a flaw per se. Aged fruit is a bit in the background. Nice method/eucalyptus notes, but they don't necessarily match the rest of the profile. The listing says it has another 50 years... I am *not* sure I'd wait anywhere near that long.

1982 vintage

Classic DB St Julien - fully resolved

1998 vintage

PnP Clean, impeccably stored bottle. This continues to wow. Nose is primarily tobacco, with some dried red fruit, cedar, old leather, and dried earth. Seamless on the palate, with med body, med acid, med tannin. Very well balanced and a lovely finish. Enjoy now or wait til your 50th if you’re born in 1982. Great bottle!

1982 vintage

Medium garnet. Blackberry, bilberry, tobacco, cedar and dust on the nose. Discreet. Good acidity. Silky tannins. Very long aftertaste. Heavenly wine.

1982 vintage

Double-decanted earlier in the day; enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 1995 pours a perfect garnet color with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe cassis, black cherry, mixed flowers, tobacco, earth, menthol and baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium, integrated tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. Classy. …

1995 vintage

10th of 12, opened 2 hours then decanted 30 minutes, perfect cork and level, beginning to shake off the mid-term blues and show well again, super minerality, fruit and balance, just a hint of unresolved tannin, graceful as befits Easter, upside and upgrade likely, 15+ years. F+ (18)....in same mould as 70 but with more material!

1998 vintage

A very nice left bank from a strict vintage. It had nice fruit upon opening but became reserved within 5 minutes. Two hours later it was open for business. It’s lovely mature wine that shows wonderful St J tipicity. The bouquet exceeds the palate, and the tannic structure seems bigger than the fruit. Drink now as the development arc seems complete.

1995 vintage

Dark red. Quite open. Some meatiness in the dark plum fruit has some tertiary elements of leather and black tea, soil and truffles but still some decent amount of fruit. Just a touch of gaminess and soy but this went down very quickly at the end of the evening!

1979 vintage

En Primeur campaign for the 2024 vintage Day Four (Bordeaux) : From Double magnum. Polished with no edges showing pure fruit; Blackcurrant backed by cedar. More of the same on the palate, juicy, clean, silky tannins, balanced but kind of oddly bland.

1995 vintage

Are you sure?

Ducru-Beaucaillou 2eme Cru Classe, Saint-Julien

Vintages

No vintages

Community Reviews