1996 Ducru Beaucaillou

Got sadly only 1, thanx Latour67.
TNs like yours help me optimize.

There are no good old wines, only good bottles of old wines. said before

Haven't had the '96 myself, but I opened a '95 Ducru a few months ago and like the '96 it needed another 5 years or so, minimum. It was still a bit tight, but showed great promise.

Thanks latour67 and jgmunro. I don't have any '96, but I have a '95 that I have been tempted to open. I will go bury it in the backyard and try to forget about it.

good to know that my 96's will lie dormant for somemore time. Latour, have you tried any from the 80's??? I know that they had that mold problem in the cellars during the mid 80's but are any vintages from then worth pursuing?

quote:

Originally posted by latour67:
The Chateau is a "show place" and with their modern facility, they are making some outstanding wines.

Yeah, but their pretty little pebbles aren't as unique as they would have you believe.

quote:

Originally posted by mareff:
good to know that my 96's will lie dormant for somemore time. Latour, have you tried any from the 80's??? I know that they had that mold problem in the cellars during the mid 80's but are any vintages from then worth pursuing?

mareff,

I've had more 80's Ducru than from any other decade, and always had a wonderful experience with their wines, and my visits.

Although I didn't buy any Ducru from the following vintages: 1980, 1984, or 1987, the rest of the 1980's were fine. I don't remember any problem with mold in the 1980's, but the mold in their cellars was prolific, with drips of water still seeping down the walls during my last visit in 2000. However, the mold never bothered any wines I tasted during the 70's, 80's, or 90's. Still, I would imagine they have moved their cellar from beneath the Chateau to their new area, which is also underground, but I'm sure its free of mold. (BTW, a trip to the Mouton cellars would also provide a real display of mold)

Board-O

My last visit was 2000, and I don't remember the little pebbles. I do remember the Palmer rocks quite well, as I almost fell, and they were quite dusty!

I stand corrected it was not mold, as told by "the wine doctor"

http://www.thewinedoctor.com/b...crubeaucaillou.shtml

Beaucaillou was beset by problems with contamination, particularly during the 1980s, firstly from an insect repellent sprayed in one of the barrel storage areas (which they stopped using as a result), secondly with a large batch of substandard corks

Latour, come on back out here. Ducru was the wine my late father-in-law collected and I've continued the trend. We could probably put together a pretty great vertical tasting.

quote:

Originally posted by Randy Sloan:
Latour, come on back out here. Ducru was the wine my late father-in-law collected and I've continued the trend. We could probably put together a pretty great vertical tasting.

Randy,

Thanks, I might take you up on that offer, next year! I stopped buying Bordeaux in 2000, and my supply of Ducru has dwindled over the last 15 years, but I still have a few bottles hidden away. Perhaps next summer.

I always see random lots of Ducru at auction and if they are still viable then they are worth seeking out.

I had a stash of the 83s that i found direct from the chateau. They were all nice, starting to or were edging over the hill. Of the 6 - 1 was corked and 1 was compromised (cork failure). They were very nice wines, fully mature, but the failure rate was rather high...

quote:

Originally posted by thirsty man:
I had a stash of the 83s that i found direct from the chateau. They were all nice, starting to or were edging over the hill. Of the 6 - 1 was corked and 1 was compromised (cork failure). They were very nice wines, fully mature, but the failure rate was rather high...

thirsty man

If you bought "direct from chateau", I would return both bottles due to cork failure. Perhaps a little trouble but surely worth it.

If you bought from a retailer, and they advertised "direct from the Chateau", I would contact the retailer, advising them you had two of six bottles with cork failure, and think they should be replaced by the Chateau. Or, at the very least, they can replace those two bottles with wines of like value.