The 1990 is a dark ruby-colored wine with a forward bouquet of oak, minerals, and cassis, attractive ripeness, firm tannins, excellent concentration and density, and a powerful, tannic, long finish. It is very closed and requires considerable patience. Follow-up note: A few examples of the 1990 Ducru have revealed the scent of cardboard intermingled with the wine's rich mineral and cassis aromas. Other bottles have been totally clean.

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Many bottles of 1990 Ducru-Beaucaillou have exhibited a damp, musty, cardboard component in the nose that obliterated the wine's fruit. The color was a healthy deep ruby/purple, and the wine possessed moderate weight and length, but, as I have written in the past, too many bottles seem musty, giving the impression of being corked. Interestingly, a bottle served at a friend's house on New Year's Day was unquestionably a 90-point wine, exhibiting no off aromas. Last tasted 11/96. Fortunately, this was the last year for the musty problem in Ducru's wines.

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