1982 Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou

From my cellar, the 1982 Ducru-Beaucaillou is one of the most youthful of the Médoc crus classés today. Unwinding in the decanter and glass with a rich bouquet of blackcurrants, licorice, cigar wrapper and loamy soil, it's full-bodied, fleshy and muscular, with a broad attack that segues into a deep core of fruit framed by ripe, powdery tannins and succulent acids. It's an unusually big-boned rendition of this elegant-styled wine, but it's no less compelling for that. ~ (96) William Kelley, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 12-30-2022

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. (It was served blind.) ~ (17.5) Jancis Robinson, JancisRobinson.com 3-4-2016

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. ~ (97) Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com 2-13-2020