WTN: 1970 Ducru-Beaucaillou (St Julien)

So Mark Lipton and I made a couple of bids together in an HDH auction, and won a lot. 1970 Bordeaux, primarily Ducru-Beaucaillou (6 bottles). We took 3 bottles each, and Mark came up with idea of a simultaneous tasting. So these are my notes (I'm a time zone ahead, but if he has posted earlier I promise not to look if I see thread).

We wanted to do similar Bdx-friendly food, and chose roast chicken. Betsy did the Thomas Keller Bouchon chicken (using thyme), with a broccoli rabe/pea dish, barley, and an arugula salad. I decided to use the bottle with the worst fill, about high shoulder. It had sat up for a week. Took off capsule, wiped (lead!!!!), used corkscrew, and cork promptly broke. 90% saturated. Hmmmmm.

Hey, not so bad. Not bad at all! Color is nice- a medium-red with only a hint of clear edges, no real browning. Nose of red currants, raspberries, leather. Red color partially transfers to the palate- previous bottles of this I tried have seemed all black fruit, this shows both red fruit and dark berries and cassis. Cedar is the predominant non-fruit odor, but there is tobacco, forest floor, and a little cocoa.

This surprises me as there are still a little bit of tannins unresolved. Not lush, there are good but smooth acids. Good length, concentration. Holds well over a couple hours, a lovely mature Bordeaux. Considering this is the bottle with the worst fill I am very happy with our buy! B+/A-

What follows are my notes, made without consultation of Dale's own notes:

1970 Ducru-Beaucaillou St. Julien
fill: top shoulder
color: orange at the rim, going to dark garnet at the center
nose: dark fruit, pencil lead, a hint of violets, later taking on a more herbal quality
palate: medium body, vibrant dark fruit, good acidity, soft tannins remaining

Incredibly primary for a 38-year old Bordeaux, it seemed to emphasize the flavors of Cabernet Sauvignon. Lovely, but not tremendously complex, this wine was shockingly young-seeming and in great shape. One minor point of contention emerged about 3/4 way through this bottle: I felt that it had begun to smell a low-level cork taint, but Jean (who claims to be as sensitive as I am to TCA) vehemently denied that. Who knows?

Mark Lipton

Interesting notes. I have two or three bottles left from a dozen bought in the mid-70s. It took a good 20 years for the wine to become really expressive. The last few I have opened have had crumbly corks like Dale's but the wine has been fine. One or two bottles have been quite funky and I had a friend who guessed Châteauneuf du Pape!

Thanks for the note. I've some of this and some '70 Montrose. I figure to drink the Ducru for my 40th.