(90% cabernet sauvignon with 10% merlot; 3.62 pH; 95% new oak; 14% alcohol) Deep ruby-red. Lovely perfume of raspberry, blackcurrant and gunflint, made more complex by vanilla and sexy spices. Dense, sweet and rich, with a fine-grained texture to the flavors of cassis and exotic dried herbs. Huge, powerful, solidly structured wine with a firm but harmonious acid spine, impeccable balance and great depth of flavor; as massive as it is, it comes across as precise and light on its feet. Finishes with peppery tannins, excellent length and outstanding freshness. Less than 10,000 cases were made due to the strict selection for the grand vin, and it shows in the high quality of the second and third wines made here. Drink from 2020 to 2050.

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90% Cabernet Sauvignon. Same analysis as last year but very different from the 2009 – indeed very different from all recent vintages of Ducru – a return to something drier and more classical. It’s all about the quality of tannins, according to Bruno Borie. Very firm and solid and confident – all from terroir. You could stick a spoon up in it, but in a good way. Drier and more grown-up than in some previous years. Very long term. Perfect for those who seek something really serious.

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With loads of minerality, a terrific opaque purple color, and slightly more structure and tannin than either Poyferre or St.-Pierre (and that's saying something), this is a blockbuster, fabulous Ducru Beaucaillou that should be at its best a good decade from now and last 40-50 years. The proprietor is not alone in thinking this is the finest Ducru Beaucaillou since the 1961. The classic wet rock, creme de cassis, subtle oak and gravelly stoniness of the vineyard come through in this spectacular, full-bodied, gorgeously pure and intense effort. This is wine for the ages that should be forgotten for at least a decade.

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