Château Ducru-Beaucaillou Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2005

"Odedi"

#AgedWineTuesday Dark ruby in color with a reddish rim. Medium plus in body with medium acidity. Dry on the palate with nice complexity and a great mouthfeel. Showing black fruits with earth, vanilla, cedar, leather, licorice, tobacco leaf, peppercorn, pencil lead, dark coffee, spices and dark chocolates. Nice length on the finish with round tannins and tangy raspberries. What a great Cabernet Sauvignon based blend from Saint Julien. This gorgeous wine feels much younger than it is right now. Complex and tasty. This 18 year old will continue to age nicely in the next 10 years. Good right out of the bottle, and better after 4 hours in the decanter. Wine Spectator 96 points. Wine Advocate 97 points. Thank you Robbie for sharing this with me. The 2005 vintage was outstanding, and it's really shining through right here. Good by itself or with food. I paired it with a Charcuterie board of meats and cheeses. Will pair nicely with a nice piece of steak. A blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon and 33% Merlot. Aged in 100% new French oak barrels. 13% alcohol by volume. 94 points. $325.

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The 2005 Ducru-Beaucaillou, tasted a dozen times since en primeur, was picked 21 September to 6 October, matured in 90% new oak for 18 months. It delivers a wall of black fruit on the nose that gradually opens up with aeration, touches of incense and wild mint, cedar coming through with time. But these aromatics remain very backward. The palate is medium-bodied with firm grippy tannins, fine acidity, solid and focused. Tremendously and uncompromisingly backward, this is a seriously fine Ducru-Beaucaillou that is just not yet ready, so go back to the cellar and leave it there for another five years. Tasted at the Ducru Beaucaillou vertical at the château. (Neal Martin, Vinous, July 2022)

Gregory Fulchiero

The reason we hold onto these wines - shared to me during dinner service by a generous guest - pine needles, incense, tobacco and ripe dark fruit. Better than many-a-first growth I’ve had. Showstopper. Unforgettable from this 100 PT vintage. @riverhouseodettes

Shay A

Last week was a combo of 4th Friday and Open That Bottle Night on back to back nights. Needless to say, the lineup between both days was full of heavy hitters, so I’m only posting standout bottles. This was slow oxed for a few hours before the event. I was fortunate to try this a couple times throughout the evening. Monster stuff that is only getting better. Aromatics of dark cocoa, mocha, bayleaf, cedar, currant, underripe blackberries and raspberries. Built like a tank on the palate...big structure sporting notes of leather, herbs de Provence, grilled black cherries, plum, mulberries, graphite, and a tannic finish. If you can decant for half a day, go for it. Otherwise, hold on and enjoy the fireworks in 5-7yrs. Thanks for bringing @Jid R .

David L

Hold. This will be wroth waiting for.

Andrew S

Relatively plush, nice fruits, cedar, hints of blossoms. Good amount of fruits and fine tannins. My sense is more complexity is still to come but drinking nicely.

Ben Spicer

It’s damn good!

Tom Kobylarz

Surprisingly elegant for the amount of fruit and density in the nose and the palate. Medium/medium+ body...tannin are fine and seem fairly resolved where that might smooth over the edges of firmer tannin.

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

Rich and smooth. Beautiful mid and dark fruits.

John Sweeney

Amazing! In a great place, so much intensity, layered and structure. Thanks Bruno! #bordeaux #stjulien