I opened a bottle of 1996 Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou last night with
grilled NY Strip steaks. I opened and decanted the bottle for a hour
before dinner. The color was deep reddish purple with a faint amount
of clearing at the rim. The nose was tight and mineral driven with no
hint of TCA or Brett. The wine was undrinkable. Very little fruit
and a very tart acidic and tannic. I'm not sure exactly what flaw or
taint that I would say afflicted this bottle but it was clearly of.
The cork was in excellent condition. Just a bad bottle I guess. I
did come back to it later in the evening and it was just pure acid.

On 10/24/11 11:38 AM, Bi!! wrote:
> I opened a bottle of 1996 Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou last night with
> grilled NY Strip steaks. I opened and decanted the bottle for a hour
> before dinner. The color was deep reddish purple with a faint amount
> of clearing at the rim. The nose was tight and mineral driven with no
> hint of TCA or Brett. The wine was undrinkable. Very little fruit
> and a very tart acidic and tannic. I'm not sure exactly what flaw or
> taint that I would say afflicted this bottle but it was clearly of.
> The cork was in excellent condition. Just a bad bottle I guess. I
> did come back to it later in the evening and it was just pure acid.

A case of low-level TCA "fruit scalping," perhaps? What a shame, Bill.

Mark Lipton

--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

On Oct 24, 1:08*pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> On 10/24/11 11:38 AM, Bi!! wrote:
>
> > I opened a bottle of 1996 Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou last night with
> > grilled NY Strip steaks. *I opened and decanted the bottle for a hour
> > before dinner. *The color was deep reddish purple with a faint amount
> > of clearing at the rim. *The nose was tight and mineral driven with no
> > hint of TCA or Brett. *The wine was undrinkable. *Very little fruit
> > and a very tart acidic and tannic. *I'm not sure exactly what flaw or
> > taint that I would say afflicted this bottle but it was clearly of.
> > The cork was in excellent condition. *Just a bad bottle I guess. *I
> > did come back to it later in the evening and it was just pure acid.
>
> A case of low-level TCA "fruit scalping," perhaps? *What a shame, Bill.
>
> Mark Lipton
>
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: *http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

That is what I thought but the total lack of "off" aromas and the very
high levels of acidity bordering on vinegar had me stumped. Perhaps a
few bad microbes? I did open a 2000 Gruaud Larose that was tasty!
Low levels of Cordier funk, plenty of ripe plummy flavors.

On Oct 24, 11:38*am, "Bi!!" > wrote:
> I opened a bottle of 1996 Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou last night with
> grilled NY Strip steaks. *I opened and decanted the bottle for a hour
> before dinner. *The color was deep reddish purple with a faint amount
> of clearing at the rim. *The nose was tight and mineral driven with no
> hint of TCA or Brett. *The wine was undrinkable. *Very little fruit
> and a very tart acidic and tannic. *I'm not sure exactly what flaw or
> taint that I would say afflicted this bottle but it was clearly of.
> The cork was in excellent condition. *Just a bad bottle I guess. *I
> did come back to it later in the evening and it was just pure acid.

Strange showing, was one of my favorites at a big 1996 horizontal.
We have a Ducru vertical set up for next month- so far have 1966,
1970, 1975, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1995, 1996, 2000. Hopefully our 96 will
show better

On Oct 24, 9:38*am, "Bi!!" > wrote:
> I opened a bottle of 1996 Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou last night with
> grilled NY Strip steaks. *I opened and decanted the bottle for a hour
> before dinner. *The color was deep reddish purple with a faint amount
> of clearing at the rim. *The nose was tight and mineral driven with no
> hint of TCA or Brett. *The wine was undrinkable. *Very little fruit
> and a very tart acidic and tannic. *I'm not sure exactly what flaw or
> taint that I would say afflicted this bottle but it was clearly of.
> The cork was in excellent condition. *Just a bad bottle I guess. *I
> did come back to it later in the evening and it was just pure acid.

I opened a 1996 Pinchon Longueville that was properly stored and
bought as soon as it came out and had exactly the profile you
describe. Again great cork, wine clear but horrible and Pinchon
Longueville ranks high on my list of wines.

On Oct 25, 10:59*am, Lawrence Leichtman > wrote:
> On Oct 24, 9:38*am, "Bi!!" > wrote:
>
> > I opened a bottle of 1996 Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou last night with
> > grilled NY Strip steaks. *I opened and decanted the bottle for a hour
> > before dinner. *The color was deep reddish purple with a faint amount
> > of clearing at the rim. *The nose was tight and mineral driven with no
> > hint of TCA or Brett. *The wine was undrinkable. *Very little fruit
> > and a very tart acidic and tannic. *I'm not sure exactly what flaw or
> > taint that I would say afflicted this bottle but it was clearly of.
> > The cork was in excellent condition. *Just a bad bottle I guess. *I
> > did come back to it later in the evening and it was just pure acid.
>
> I opened a 1996 Pinchon Longueville that was properly stored and
> bought as soon as it came out and had exactly the profile you
> describe. Again great cork, wine clear but horrible and Pinchon
> Longueville ranks high on my list of wines.

I did check the wine the next day and it was gone, gone, gone.

On 10/25/11 1:48 PM, Bi!! wrote:

> I did check the wine the next day and it was gone, gone, gone.

Another possibility is premature aging due to a faulty cork, Bill. I
remember a few similar experiences in the early days of plastic "corks"
before it was realized that those seals would fail early on.

Mark Lipton


--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

"Mark Lipton" > skrev i melding
...
> On 10/25/11 1:48 PM, Bi!! wrote:
>
>> I did check the wine the next day and it was gone, gone, gone.
>
> Another possibility is premature aging due to a faulty cork, Bill. I
> remember a few similar experiences in the early days of plastic "corks"
> before it was realized that those seals would fail early on.
>
I don't think Ducru ever had plastic corks...

It seems to me that 1996 had a number of these wines that were short in
fruit, perhaps a shortlived vintage...

Anders

On Oct 25, 3:01*pm, "Anders Tørneskog"
> wrote:
> "Mark Lipton" > skrev i ...> On 10/25/11 1:48 PM, Bi!! wrote:
>
> >> I did check the wine the next day and it was gone, gone, gone.
>
> > Another possibility is premature aging due to a faulty cork, Bill. *I
> > remember a few similar experiences in the early days of plastic "corks"
> > before it was realized that those seals would fail early on.
>
> I don't think Ducru ever had plastic corks...
>
> It seems to me that 1996 had a number of these wines that were short in
> fruit, perhaps a shortlived vintage...
>
> Anders

Short on fruit and shortlived are not phrases that come to my mind re
1996 Medoc (short on fruit does apply to some/many Libournais). I'm
not sure if TCA or oxygen, but I'm pretty sure an off bottle here.
I've had 1996 Ducru-Beaucaillou twice this year (both times with
experienced Bdx group), and it showed well
August: Rich, young, powerful. Deep creme de cassis fruit, big but
ripe tannins, excellent length. There's just a touch of surmaturite
that detracts for me, but nice wine. B+
March: young and totally primary, but this is going to be really nice.
A-/B+

On 10/25/11 3:01 PM, Anders Tørneskog wrote:
> "Mark Lipton" > skrev i melding
> ...
>> On 10/25/11 1:48 PM, Bi!! wrote:
>>
>>> I did check the wine the next day and it was gone, gone, gone.
>>
>> Another possibility is premature aging due to a faulty cork, Bill. I
>> remember a few similar experiences in the early days of plastic "corks"
>> before it was realized that those seals would fail early on.
>>
> I don't think Ducru ever had plastic corks...

Anders,
Sorry if I wasn't clear. I wasn't implying that Ducru had a plastic
cork, merely a faulty cork. Failure of the closure will be the same
regardless of the nature of the closure since it's the ingress of air
that produces the problems.

Mark Lipton


--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

On Oct 25, 3:57*pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> On 10/25/11 3:01 PM, Anders Tørneskog wrote:
>
> > "Mark Lipton" > skrev i melding
> ...
> >> On 10/25/11 1:48 PM, Bi!! wrote:
>
> >>> I did check the wine the next day and it was gone, gone, gone.
>
> >> Another possibility is premature aging due to a faulty cork, Bill. *I
> >> remember a few similar experiences in the early days of plastic "corks"
> >> before it was realized that those seals would fail early on.
>
> > I don't think Ducru ever had plastic corks...
>
> Anders,
> * *Sorry if I wasn't clear. *I wasn't implying that Ducru had a plastic
> cork, merely a faulty cork. *Failure of the closure will be the same
> regardless of the nature of the closure since it's the ingress of air
> that produces the problems.
>
> Mark Lipton
>
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: *http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

The cork was perfect. Very high quality which is typical of Bordeaux,
quite dense, the wine had only saturated the very end of the cork and
there was not leakage at all. Just a bad bottle I suspect.