Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou 1982

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "At full maturity, the wine offers a complex, full-bodied, elegant, refined mouthful of ripe, red berries. The cedar, tobacco leaf, spice and blast of cassis with crisp cherries and a sprig of herbs is singing at full-throttle today. I am sure this is going to remain at this high level for at least 2 decades or so."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The harvest lasted 16 days from the 16th September," proprietor Bruno Borie mentioned about the 1982 Ducru-Beaucaillou. Medium brick colored, it comes galloping out of the glass with bold, expressive notes of Black Forest cake, preserved plums and mincemeat pie with hints of cigar box, star anise, eucalyptus and espresso plus wafts of roasted nuts and iron ore. Medium to full-bodied, generous and opulent, the palate has beautifully ripe, fine-grained tannins and tons of youthful fruit, finishing with epically long-lasting layers of preserved black fruits and exotic spices."

JEB DUNNUCK: "The finest bottle I’ve had of this wine (which came from the estate), the 1982 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou continues to drink brilliantly and is a magical Saint-Julien. Still healthy ruby hued with a mature yet insanely complex bouquet of sweet red and black fruits, cedary herbs, graphite, tobacco, and forest floor, it’s powerful yet seamless on the palate, with resolved tannins, no hard edges, and a fabulous finish. This is mature Bordeaux in all its glory. Drink bottles any time over the coming two decades."

FALSTAFF: "Kräftiges Karmingranat, Rubinreflexe, recht dunkle Farbe. In der Nase reifes, dunkles Beerenkonfit, zart nach Dörrobst und Nougat, eine klare, saubere Nase, mit feinen Gewürzanklängen unterlegt. Am Gaumen stoffig, feine ätherische Anklänge, schokoladige Noten, feine, kraftvolle Tannine, ein hocheleganter Wein voll dunklem Beerenkonfit, finessenreicher Säurebogen, feine Röstaromen im Nachhall, eine absolut perfekte Flasche. So hatten auch die anderen Verkoster diesen Wein nur selten erlebt."

JAMES SUCKLING: "This is a wine that I had forgotten about. It shows beautiful sweet tobacco, flowers, and currants on the nose. It’s full body, silky with fine tannins. It’s ready and pretty. Served from imperial bottle."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Sweet, liquorice nose and rather attractively pungent on the finish. Still a very good wine with such fruit intensity that I initially took it for a right bank wine."

WINE SPECTATOR: "This Ducru '82 has always been a beauty. Dark ruby in color, with a slight amber edge. Very fresh and floral, with loads of berry and rose character. Medium-bodied, with a good balance of soft tannins and a caressing finish.--1982 Bordeaux horizontal. Drink now."