1982 Ducru-Beaucaillou 2eme Cru Classe, Saint-Julien 1x75cl

Neal Martin 90

The 1982 Ducru-Beaucaillou is a vintage that has been variable over the years and this example merely adds to the bottle-to-bottle inconsistency. It starts promisingly with quite a mineral-driven bouquet, more intensity than the ’82 Beychevelle, plenty of black fruit mixed with undergrowth and leather, a touch of chlorophyll too. The palate is medium-bodied and shows a little more VA than expected; likewise I was not the only person who thought there was some Brettanomyces marring the finish. Over 30 minutes it becomes quite herbal. Like a misbehaving child! Tasted single blind at the 1982 dinner at Cornus in London. [Neal Martin, 01/12/2025]

Vinous 87

Full ruby-red. Slightly musty aromas of currant and cigar box. Fat and full, but with an intrusive dry edge suppressing the wine fruit and verve and repeating on the finish. I’ve had a couple of better bottles of this wine, but it apparent that the cellar pollution problems that plagued this chateau between 1985 and the early ’90s were already an issue as early as ’82. (A second sample showed a more perfumed nose of cherry, cedar and earth but also a distinctly dusty character. This sample showed a bit more mid-palate sweetness, but here, too, the fruit was somewhat dried by the wine dusty character, and the finish was likewise dry-edged; I scored this sample 89.) [Stephen Tanzer, 07/01/2002]

Wine Advocate 97

"The harvest lasted 16 days from the 16th September," proprietor Bruno Borie mentioned about the 1982 Ducru-Beaucaillou. Medium brick colored, it comes galloping out of the glass with bold, expressive notes of Black Forest cake, preserved plums and mincemeat pie with hints of cigar box, star anise, eucalyptus and espresso plus wafts of roasted nuts and iron ore. Medium to full-bodied, generous and opulent, the palate has beautifully ripe, fine-grained tannins and tons of youthful fruit, finishing with epically long-lasting layers of preserved black fruits and exotic spices. [Lisa Perrotti-Brown, 13/05/2020]

Anticipated maturity: 2020-2037

JancisRobinson.com 17.5

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.) [04/03/2016]

Anticipated maturity: 1995-2020