1975 Ducru Beaucaillou
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Tasting notes
The 1975 Ducru-Beaucaillou absolutely shined when Bruno Borie served a bottle at the estate three years ago. There is a little funk on the nose, but there is plenty of fruit behind it, black cherries and boysenberry, cigar box, sage and peppermint. Aeration actually benefits the aromatics and imparts more precision. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and a keen thread of acidity. Whilst it is not amazingly complex, it has plenty of freshness with a saline finish and aftertaste. Well-stored bottles will continue to give pleasure. Tasted at the Ducru Beaucaillou vertical at the château.
Critic scores
Average Score
Neal Martin
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
The 1975 Ducru Beaucaillou is a vintage that I had not encountered for 15 years but my God, what a wonderful wine! Surely the best between 1970 and 1982, the 1975 is beautifully balanced with ample fruit on the quite precocious nose that is more akin to a 1982 or 1985. Certainly unlike some of its more esteemed counterparts, this 1975 shows no signs of drying out or hard tannins, one of the best I have encountered for some time.
I have never been a fan of this wine. I lost confidence in it when it was around ten years of age because of its hard, angular, austere, tannic style. In the most recent tasting, the wine exhibited more ripe fruit than I had previously noticed. There is still plenty of astringent, aggressive tannin, but the balance is better, and the wine reveals a complex, earthy, cedar, curranty nose with dried fruit and herb components, full body, and a classic, old style personality. It displays more finesse and character than it did at a younger age. Like many 1975s, it will keep for 20+ years ... but will the fruit hold up?
About the producer
Second Growth estate Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou in Saint-Julien is one of the Super Seconds, an elite group of properties producing wines that regularly compete with the finest in the Médoc.