2000 Château Ducru Beaucaillou

Robert Parker - 97

Tasted at Farr’s Ducru-Beaucaillou dinner at the Ledbury. Consistent notes when compared to last year with a spellbinding bouquet: blackberries, smoke, a touch of dried herbs and pine needles with stunning delineation and vibrancy. The palate is full-bodied with outstanding mineralite and a sense of symmetry that is beyond both the very impressive 1995 and 1996. It still needs another five or six years, but will be worth the wait. Tasted October 2010.

James Suckling - 96

Wonderful rose and currant aromas with hints of mint. It’s full-bodied yet very finely textured, with good fruit concentration and length. Continuing to improve in the bottle.

Decanter - 96

Moccha, pine and mushroom notes emphasise the development almost 25 years since the vintage. There is still masses of sweet, dark currant fruit on the palatae with plenty of acidity to keep the wine fresh and alive. Concentrated and long, this is a fine wine which is now well into its drinking phase. Perhaps the tannins give the age away a little, with a leafy, slightly drying finish, suggesting that the wine is not going to improve substantially, but will hold well.