Château Ducru Beaucaillou 2009

Starting a duo of magical vintages, the 2009 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou is one of those wines that always seems to deliver the goods. A normal blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot that hit 13.5% natural alcohol, it has a soaring bouquet of sweet blackcurrants, smoked tobacco, minty herbs, graphite, and assorted spicy nuances. It's full-bodied, broad, expansive, and flawlessly balanced, and has still present yet sweet, fine-grained tannins. It's in a much sexier, more showy style compared to the 2010, but I suspect it will nevertheless be just about as long-lived. This is pure perfection in wine.

Remarkably fresh and delicate nose yet classic and aromatic and full of spicy and graphite notes with liquorice, blackcurrant, cedar, tobacco, and cherry. Very fresh and elegant, the palate is formidable and shows the classic style of Ducru-Beaucaillou with its characteristic tension and upright structure and the powerful personality of a Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant wine from one of the great terroirs of the Médoc. Bravo!

Deep garnet colored, the 2009 Ducru-Beaucaillou bursts from the glass with bombastic crème de cassis, black cherry compote and preserved plums notes followed by hints of menthol, hoisin, dusty soil and incense plus fragrant wafts of candied violets and baker’s chocolate. Full bodied, rich and spicy in the mouth, the palate offers a beautifully plush texture and bags of freshness, finishing long and layered. An absolute powerhouse!

Intense hue, crimson highlights. Great depth on the nose dominated by black berry fruits, liquorice sweet and subtle, slightly spicy oak. Dense, well-structured, monumental palate, still a little backward. Hugely successful effort. Keep… for a long time.