Ducru Beaucaillou 1959

The 1959 Ducru-Beaucaillou has a medium to deep brick color with a touch of brown. Upon the very first sniff, a blast of exotic scents shoots out at full throttle with fantastically intense notes of preserved Morello cherries, Black Forest cake, gingerbread, dark chocolate and Christmas cake, followed by wafts of potpourri, aniseed, woodsmoke and incense plus the most beguiling suggestions of rose oil and orange peel. Medium to full-bodied, the palate packs a powerful punch of rich red and black berry preserves layers, featuring a veritable fireworks display of floral and exotic spice notes, finishing, many minutes later, with long-lingering savory suggestions. Exhilarating, electrifying, hedonic. This is what it is all about. 2020 - 2059

The 1959 Ducru-Beaucaillou, my first encounter no less, is deep in colour with surprisingly little ageing on its rim. The bouquet is surprisingly one that demands coaxing, eventually revealing gorgeous scents of iris and rose petals, an old mahogany bureau, just a whiff of a cold sea. The palate is very well balanced with fine-boned tannins and a perfect line of acidity. This is very harmonious, gentle in grip, not an ostentatious 1959 in any shape or form, more classically-driven with a lovely cherry liqueur and blood orange finish. This is utterly divine. Tasted at the Ducru Beaucaillou vertical at the château.