Château Ducru Beaucaillou, 2eme Cru Classé, St Julien, 2015

Bruno's informative fiche technique recounts some rather bloodthirsty dates in our history, all ending in '15. Quite what the relevance of Agincourt, Waterloo, the Great war and the mindless act of terrorism in Paris have to do with this 'exceptional' vintage, we don't really know... Anyway, confused but intrigued we pressed on. The grand vin is an impressive 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and just 5% Merlot. Its inky colour shimmers and reveals a complex bouquet of sweet pipe smoke, flowers, graphite and swathes of decadent black cherry liqueur. This is unbelievably sleek and sumptuous with a real sense of polish. It has curves in all the right places; creamy and black fruited, this effortless and seductive Ducru really is rather complex and glorious. It builds and builds into a crescendo of fine tannins and pure suave cassis, mocha and Asian spice. Impressive!