Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou 2008

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "You do not have to look far to find the secondary notes of truffle, rocks, cedar, spice box, smoke and blackberries. On the palate, the wine is full bodied, youthful, vibrant and fresh. There is a lot of weight and depth, showing some dusty tannins still waiting to be resolved. Give it 4-6 more years and this will be a more interesting wine."

DECANTER: "This has real depth of flavour, with an extremely good quality, juicy slate and mineral-filled finish. The emphasis, however, is upfront and all about the brambly blackberry and bilberry fruits, edged with liquorice, eucalyptus and hedgerow. It's hugely enjoyable to see such different personalities from vintage to vintage. Drinking Window 2019 - 2040"

JEB DUNNUCK: "A gem from the Left Bank is the 2008 Château Ducru Beaucaillou, which comes from just one-third of the total production and is 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot. This brilliant Saint-Julien boasts a still vivid ruby/purple color as well as a head-turning bouquet of crème de cassis, high-class smoke tobacco, truffle, and some gravelly, rocky minerality. Possessing medium to full-bodied richness, silky tannins, and thrilling purity of fruit, it’s just at the early stages of its drink window and has an easy two decades or more of prime drinking."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Deep garnet colored, the 2008 Ducru-Beaucaillou begins a little broody, giving up glimpses of tar, chargrill, moss covered tree bark and fungi scents over a core of baked plums, warm cassis and blackberry compote plus a touch of unsmoked cigars. Medium-bodied, the palate has firm, ripe, grainy tannins and bold freshness supporting the earth laced black fruit layers, finishing minerally."

JAMES SUCKLING: "Wow. This is really impressive for the vintage, with a solid core of raspberry, currants and spices. Full and round, with velvety tannins and a long, long finish. Superb winemaking for the vintage. Try after 2013."

WEINWISSER: "Tiefes, sattes Granat mit violetten und nahezu schwarzen Reflexen. Feine, elegante Aromatik, schwarze Kirschen, Pfeffer, Brombeeren, Veilchen und Cassis, nicht aufdringlich, aber doch atemberaubend rein und delikat. Im Gaumen extrem fein, seidige Textur, sehr lang und in allen Proportionen genial ausgerichtet, erst im Finale merkt man die feinen, ja diskreten Reserven. Ob ihm im Finish der Druck abgeht, um als ganz grosser Ducru gelten zu können? Vielleicht ist es ja gerade seine Finesse, die ihn so einzigartig macht. In 15 Jahren wissen wir mehr."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "Chocolate, coffee and sweet plum notes give this wine great richness. It has wood that needs time to integrate, although the main character is beautiful, velvet-textured, ripe fruit and plenty of sweet tannins."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, jugendliche Reflexe, violetter Rand. In der Nase nach frisch geernteten schwarzen Herzkirschen, einladende Frucht, feine Gewürzanklänge, mit zartem Cassis unterlegt. Am Gaumen rassig und frisch, mit feiner Extraktsüße unterlegt, feine Tannine, sehr eleganter, klassischer Ducru, allerdings deutlicher vom Cabernet geprägt als einst, im Abgang feine Nuancen von Veilchen und Heidelbeeren, zart schokoladig, delikat mit gutem Reifepotenzial."

WINE SPECTATOR: "This is dark and brooding, with a tarry wall holding the black currant, melted licorice and espresso notes at bay for now. Extra roasted sage, cedar and briar push in on the finish, which shows an old-school hint. Rock-solid. Best from 2013 through 2021."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Tasted blind. Dark and lustrous. Very rich and round and charming with ripe fruit but also the slightly austere structure of St-Julien. Quite a bit of acidity."