1989 Ducru-Beaucaillou 2eme Cru Classe, Saint-Julien 1x750ml

Vinous 87

The 1989 Ducru-Beaucaillou has been a more consistent performer compared to the 1990 over the years. It has an open, leafy bouquet with forest floor, morels, truffle and smoke, not complex and with brettanomyces becoming evident. The palate is medium-bodied with sour cherry and quite dry tannins. There is decent body here, although there is a little hardness on the finish. It s a Ducru-Beaucaillou that shines better at the dinner table than at a vertical tasting like this. Tasted at the Ducru Beaucaillou vertical at the chateau. [Neal Martin, 21/07/2022]

Anticipated maturity: 2021-2028

Robert Parker 92

Harvest took place this year from 11th to 24th September. The wine was aged for around 12 months in two-thirds new oak. Pale to medium brick colored, the 1989 Ducru-Beaucaillou sashays out of the glass with pretty notes of dried flowers, fallen leaves and dusty soil over a core of warm figs, dried cherries, prunes and spice cake plus wafts of unsmoked cigars and powdered cinnamon. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is still seductively rich with a lively line of soft, silt-like tannins, finishing long and wonderfully savory. Readers should note that this vintage fell within a notoriously patchy period at Ducru, where the cellar is likely to have fallen victim to TCA or a TCA-like taint, and it appears some bottles were impacted from 1986 to 1994. By 1995, the chateau had a completely new vat room/cellar and the problem ceased. Therefore, there could be some bottle variation to be had with this vintage. This bottle, however, was pristine, tasted at the chateau. [Lisa Perrotti-Brown, 13/05/2020]

Anticipated maturity: 2020-2035