1998 Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou

This is a second growth St Julien, from the Medoc region of Bordeaux (left bank).

I bought a case of this for around £250 about 5 years ago and it has been ageing in the cellar ever since.  The 1998 appears to be ready to drink now - I opened the first bottle last night for a taster and decanted it for around 3 hours before serving. It could have done with being decanted for longer, although there was little sediment, I think it would have improved the flavour.

The wine was very smooth, but not quite silky and not too tannic.  It may well keep another few years but judging by that first bottle I would say start drinking now.  It would make an excellent accompaniment to fillet steak.

Berry Bros are selling it for around £58 a bottle, but discounted to around £45 if you buy a case of it.  You can order it online here.

I would give this one 7/10 but will try another bottle in a month or so, decant it for much longer and see what happens.