Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou 1986

95 WINESPECTATOR: "A monster in its infancy. Almost black in color, with intense cassis, herb and mint aromas and superrich, dense cassis and licorice flavors. May last forever.--Ducru-Beaucaillou vertical." 93+ ANTONIO GALLONI: "Good bright ruby-red. Brilliant superripe but vibrant nose combines black- and redcurrants, raspberry and graphite, plus floral and caramel elements. Lush but penetrating and vinous; offers lots of baby fat over an impressive spine of acids and tannins. Very long and very subtle on the aftertaste. A beauty; this and the superb ´95 will be interesting to track and compare over the next two decades." 91 THE WINEADVOCATE: "The 1986 Ducru Beaucaillou was served by Bruno Borie both decanted and directly from bottle, poured blind. From the bottle, it has an attractive bouquet with plush blackberry and wild strawberry fruit, indeed, showing more fruité than I was expecting. There is a roundness to these aromatics, perhaps a little more like 1985 in some ways. The palate is medium-bodied and here the seriousness and structure of the 1986 vintages shows through. There is impressive body and though it felt firm and masculine on the finish, there is clearly sufficient fruit that counterbalances the backbone. The decanted version showed a little more volatility on the nose, but here I discerned more complexity on the palate. The 1986 Ducru poured directly from bottle felt a little more savory and strangely, more cohesive, with more of the terroir coming through on the slightly loamy, brown sugar-tinged finish. Tasted July 2016."