Wine was courtesy of Jake.

This is my first time trying this wine, and a surprising outperformer. Probably my second favorite wine in the line up.

In the glass: another deep dark maroon wine, intensely concentrated and full bodied. Has a noticeable garnet hue to the maroon.

On the nose: this was the confusing part of the wine. I know from previous readings that Ducrus typically are significantly majority Cab Sauv with much lower merlot. Yet this was intensely and distinctly red plums, with black currant at the background. If tasted blind, I would’ve immediately called this a merlot dominant wine. Will need to research the blend for this specific vintage separately hm. A ton of new oak – it’s dense and rich. Thankfully the wine had that concentration of fruit to balance against the oak.

On the palate: rich, dense and palate coating. Full bodied. Long finish. Intense. Midish acidity.
On the exhale, warm rich round red fruits. Delicious.
Surprisingly: despite the very elevated alcohol of this vintage, it was supremely well balanced. I never felt the alcohol on the nose nor palate. Super beautifully done, and impressive.

This wine has the legs to go the distance. In fact, I would say this NEEDS quite a lot more time to mellow out the oak, plus take advantage of sheer concentration of fruits to develop some tertiary notes. But wow. Solid wine.