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: 1970 Ducru Beaucaillou, St-Julien (high shoulder fill, scuffed label)

1970 Ducru Beaucaillou, St-Julien (high shoulder fill, scuffed label)

SKU #1030043 92 points Wine Advocate

Outer quote mark This wine has been fully mature and delicious for many years, so I was not surprised by how stunning this bottle was. It has always been an outstanding wine for the vintage - complex, rich, savory, and the quintessentially elegant Bordeaux. This beauty continues to reveal the fragrance and finesse that one expects from Lafite-Rothschild but so rarely finds. A fragrant, complex bouquet of cedar, herbs, vanillin, fruitcake, and coffee is followed by a soft, gentle, graciously-constructed wine with sweet layers of fruit. I am not sure how much longer the 1970 Ducru will keep, but from regular bottle, it is delicious and should be consumed. How nice it would be to have a stock of magnums of this wine in the cellar! (RP) Inner quote mark (6/1996)

91 points Wine Spectator

Outer quote mark Deep garnet; spicy cassis and tar nose is ripe and full; rich, full, chewy and fruity; at its peak; a very classy claret. Inner quote mark (5/1993)

K&L Notes

Four stars from critic Michael Broadbent in his book Vintage Wine: "Leaving aside Latour, I rate Ducru and Chaval Blanc as the best of the '70s...Most recently, a very good bottle..." 90 points Neal Martin's Wine Journal: "Served at the chateau at their Vinexpo banquet from magnum and despite the perfect provenance, this did nothing to convince me that the’ 70 is in gradual decline. The bouquet has a slight mustiness to it, Provencal herbs, saddle leather, hints of black tea, cedar and undergrowth. The palate is medium-bodied, well balanced but the fruit seems a little faded, as if the contrast has been dialled down. Nevertheless, it remains commendably elegant towards the finish..." (07/2010)

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1970 Ducru Beaucaillou, St-Julien (high shoulder fill, scuffed label)

Price: $249.99

Quantity:

RP: 92

WS: 91

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Varietal:

Cabernet Sauvignon and Blends

- Cabernet Sauvignon has come a long way from its role as a blending varietal, however dominant, in the wines of Bordeaux. Today it is the most planted red varietal in the world. Identified as a descendent of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, the late-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon needs to be planted in warmer climates to fully ripen. Its small berries can easily be identified for their distinctive blue color, thick skins and high tannins. And while the varietal has its own definitive characteristics: green pepper-like aromas and black currant flavors among them, it is perhaps most prized for its ability to convey terroir, vintage and winemaking. A relatively new varietal, Cabernet Sauvignon started making inroads into the wines of the Médoc and Graves in the late-18th century. Today it is also dominant in the up-and-coming Entre-Deux-Mers region of Bordeaux and can also be found in Southwest France. It is the companion varietal to Sangiovese in Italy's Super Tuscans and is planted all over Europe, stretching to lesser-known winegrowing regions like Russia and Lebanon. In the Americas Cabernet Sauvignon has found champions in every nook and cranny of California and among winemakers in Washington, where it complements plantings of Merlot. In South America, Cab thrives in Chile, but can also be found in smaller amounts in Argentina and even in Mexico.

Country:

France

- When it comes to wine, France stands alone. No other country can beat it in terms of quality and diversity. And while many of its Region, Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne most obviously, produce wine as rare, as sought-after and nearly as expensive as gold, there are just as many obscurities and values to be had from little known appellations throughout the country. To learn everything there is to know about French wine would take a lifetime. To understand and appreciate French wine, one only has to begin tasting them.

Sub-Region:

Bordeaux

Specific Appellation:

Saint Julien

- St. Julien, the smallest of the four famous appellations of the Haut Medoc, is known for highly extracted, finely structured, Cabernet-based reds. It is nestled between Pauillac to the north and Margaux to the south. Like St. Estephe, there are no first growths in this area. Leoville-las-Cases, Leoville Poyferre, Leoville Barton, Ducru Beaucaillou, and Gruard Larose are the second-growths of St. Julien followed by Lagrange which is the only third-growth. Beychevelle, Branaire Ducru, St. Pierre, and Talbot, which are all fourth-growth wines, round out the grand cru classe chateaux. In the last several vintages, wineries from this appellation have been out-performing their traditional rankings making many of the wines from this region some of the best values in red wine today.