Last week I was in Hong Kong for a very special dinner that we co-hosted with Bruno Borie, the proprietor of Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou and “Monsieur Truffle” - Pierre-Jean Pébeyre. Check out Monsieur Truffle at www.pebeyre.com
Before dinner - a kilo of black truffles on display
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Pierre-Jean explained to us that 100 years ago France produced 800 tons of truffles annually and today the harvest is down to a mere 10 tons per year. The 24 of us managed to get through a whole kilogram of the black beauties during the evening, generously shaved over a succession of dishes served by Chef Umberto Bombana at restaurant Otto E Mezzo. It was a sensational dinner with the usual impeccable Hong Kong service but my job here is to talk about the wine….
The wines line up to be decanted
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Bruno explained to us that since he took over the management of Ducru in 2003 he has divided up the vineyard holdings into 3 distinct areas. Only the vines around the Chateau that overlook the estuary are now used for Ducru Beaucaillou itself. Consequently production of grand vin has halved from 20,000 to 10,000 cases per year. The vines that lie in the heart of the Saint Julien appellation (surrounded by neighbours such as Gruaud Larose and Talbot) are now only used for the second label (Le Croix de Beaucaillou) and the vines further inland (but still of course within the Saint Julien appellation) are used to produce what is in effect the third label (or the second wine of the second wine!) – Lalande Borie. Thus, Ducru is now following the strict quality control models of Latour and Leoville Lascases who produce 3 wines in order to ensure that only the very best grapes make it into their “grand vin”.
Decanters ready to be poured
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We kicked off with Lalande Borie 2005 which is a very attractive wine nevertheless. The colour is only medium-deep but there is a very pretty, fragrant red fruit nose. On the palate it is forward and easy-drinking with abundant red fruit character and a touch of spice. Smooth, supple and uncomplicated this is a rare Saint Julien that is approachable in its youth. 15.5
Next up was Le Croix de Beaucaillou 2005. This was the first time that most of our guests had tried this wine and it certainly impressed everyone around the table – so much so that 30 cases were sold by our charming sales team during the course of the evening! This is without doubt one of the best second wines of Bordeaux on this showing. Once again, I found myself writing that this is probably better quality than the grand vin was 15 – 20 years ago. With 60% new oak elevage and fruit sourced only from well situated mature vines, this is clearly a wine of classed growth breeding and style. There is a good deep colour and a rich nose of black fruit, licorice and Asian spices. On the palate it is very enticing with low acidity and soft tannins yet bags of ripe black fruit – blackberries and blackcurrants come to mind. Plump and full-bodied with 10-20 years of drinking life ahead of it. You can drink this now if you must but it’s going to get better and better. Well worth the price of £300 per case. Excellent. 16.5
Truffle shaving
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The first vintage of Ducru Beaucaillou itself that we tried was the 2004. This is a hugely impressive wine that must rank as one of the finest of the vintage. Despite the 90% new oak, the fruit does not allow it to dominate in any way. There is just a little fade on the rim but it still looks a baby at 6 and a half years of age. This is classic Medoc with an intense nose of cedar and cassis. The palate is elegant and harmonious with great complexity and class. There is a strong black fruit character with an almost Graves-like tarry element. Undeniably concentrated with some firm tannins to match the deep fruit, this is a wine that is not really ready to drink and probably needs another 3-4 years until it reaches maturity. Really top class for the vintage. 17
Karen tells Bruno how much Croix de Beaucaillou she's sold
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This was followed by the famous 2000 vintage which was made by Bruno’s brother Xavier from larger yields than are seen today. It is certainly an excellent wine but I felt that it was actually slightly less concentrated than the 2004 and, unlike the Ducru of the last few years, it is not in the ranks of the very best wines of the vintage. That all sounds a bit harsh as I really enjoyed it! Medium deep in colour with some fading at the rim. A pure nose with classic Bordeaux breed and style. This is a solid claret with good blackberry fruit at the centre and some firm tannins at the finish. Not quite enough density at the moment to match the tannins but maybe it will soften in the coming years. Good, maybe very good but not truly great. 17
Bruno was a big hit with the ladies
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The next wine blew us all away and almost drew applause from those present. The legendary Ducru Beaucaillou 1982. This is a wine that was quite closed in its youth and was rather over-shadowed by the more sexy and approachable wine produced by super-second rival Pichon Lalande a couple of miles up the road. Today the Pichon is in decline but Ducru has really blossomed. What a sensational glass of wine. My neighbour bought the last 7 cases that we had in stock after his first sip and by the end of dinner Bruno had sold us more stock at a higher cost price than we had sold it for an hour earlier – c’est la vie! This wine is so complex and, at nearly 30 years of age, it seems to be at the perfect stage of maturity. Multi-dimensional, with layers of dark fruit and sweet ripe tannins. It still has a dark colour and a wonderfully opulent nose full of coffee and cocoa notes. Sensationally sweet yet finely balanced and structured with a mega-long finish. One of the greatest mature Bordeaux wines on the market today and I can think of many vintages of First Growths that are not as good as this…..In fact that Chinese favourite Lafite 1982 would struggle against it on this form! 19.5
Cheers from Bruno and Stephen
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We finished off the legendary Ducru Beaucaillou 1970. I have always thought that, after the awesome 1970 Latour, this was one of the greatest wines produced in the Medoc in this vintage. Certainly it’s well ahead of Lafite, Mouton and Margaux in quality. Despite following on from the superb 1982 this impressed everyone around the table – and in Hong Kong they are not used to drinking wines that are 40 years old. This is classic mature claret that is just beginning to dry a little on the finish but there is still plenty of fruit and complex flavours on the mid palate such as Christmas Pudding, cigar box and cedar. Very classy and elegant. It’s time to drink it up, but this is a very fine wine indeed. 18
My thanks to the passionate proprietor Bruno Borie whose love of Ducru and desire to produce top class wines there is so beamingly obvious. Thanks also to Monsieur Truffle and the waiting team of Otto e Mezzo for their first class service. Also to those who attended and made this evening such a jolly event – serious yet great fun.
