2004 Ducru Beaucaillou

‘After a damp spring, June was warm and dry, resulting in record fertilisation and an early and even flowering. The temperatures cooled in July and August, necessitating a significant green harvest to facilitate ripening, but ideal conditions in September and October, with dry and warm days and cool night, yielded perfectly ripe and healthy fruit.’ Harvest: 27 September – 11 October.’ 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot. 18 months in new French oak. Deep garnet with brick rim. Smells completely different from the 2013 just tasted, with more red fruit but also a little bit meaty. And still that stony/leafy character. Lots of leafy undergrowth and a bit herbal. Taut, with more tannic finesse than 2007 and 2013, finer grained but still with a certain thickness of texture. A bit drying on the cigar-box finish and that slight meatiness shows at the end. (JH)

Structured, dark ruby (deeper than the decade-younger 2013), with beautifully judged smoked oak notes. Shows the classic structure of St Julien, dark cassis and blackberry fruits, mint leaf on the finish, tobacco and cigar, a delicious wine, great example of how the best wines of the Médoc are imprinted by vintage character, but it never overshadows the estate signature. Harvest September 23 to October 11, 80% new oak. Eric and Jacques Boissenot consultant.

The 2004 Ducru-Beaucaillou is a vintage that I have not tasted for a few years. Now at 17-years of age, it has a delineated, tertiary, tobacco-scented nose where secondary scents are playing the major roles. Cigar humidor, autumn leaves and stewed black tea. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins, saline and marine-influence, moderate weight, perhaps missing the complexity that Ducru-Beaucaillou delivers in great vintages, so the finish is a bit conservative and correct. If you like classic Saint-Julien, the 2004 will appeal to you and it should give another 15 years of drinking pleasure. Tasted at the Ducru Beaucaillou vertical at the château.