Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: 96 points

At a charity dinner in Charleston, SC, the 1982 Ducru Beaucaillou from my cellar was the only corked bottle out of twenty-two. A subsequent tasting revealed one of the all-time great Ducrus, probably matched or eclipsed by several recent vintages (i.e., 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2008). The 1982 is still 5-8 years away from full maturity, but it exhibits a dense ruby/plum/garnet color to the rim as well as a sweet perfume of forest floor, spice box, cedar, and copious quantities of black fruits. Medium to full-bodied and beautifully pure with sweet tannins, this wine has aged more slowly than I initially expected. It is the finest Ducru Beaucaillou produced after the 1961 and before the 2003. With respect to the 1990, I do not own any of this wine, but it was the last of a series of vintages between 1986 and 1990 that were affected by the TCA-like contamination in the estates chai, which was completely destroyed and then rebuilt, eliminating the source of these smells. Not every bottle is affected by this, but I do not have any source for this vintage. Release price: ($140.00/case)

Review date: June 2009

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar: 87 points

($150-$250) Full ruby-red. Slightly musty aromas of currant and cigar box. Fat and full, but with an intrusive dry edge suppressing the wine fruit and verve and repeating on the finish. I've had a couple of better bottles of this wine, but it apparent that the cellar pollution problems that plagued this chateau between 1985 and the early '90s were already an issue as early as '82. (A second sample showed a more perfumed nose of cherry, cedar and earth but also a distinctly dusty character. This sample showed a bit more mid-palate sweetness, but here, too, the fruit was somewhat dried by the wine dusty character, and the finish was likewise dry-edged; I scored this sample 89.)

Review date: July 2002