The 1995 Beychevelle has never been one of my favorite vintages, inferior to the 2005 or 2015 that I juxtaposed at the table. Dark berry fruit, quite ferrous, is evidence of a little Brettanomyces. The palate is powerful and muscular, which is not really the Beychevelle style, and quite spicy towards the finish. Will it improve with time? I doubt it.

Good deep ruby-red. Distinctive, oak-dominated aromas of crushed blackberry, cedar, tar and meat; distinctly Rioja-like. Then dry, penetrating and uncompromising, with strong berry flavor and somewhat tart-edged acidity. A rather skinny St. Julien that may put on weight in bottle. Finishes with dusty tannins and very good length. Seems far crisper than an early sample tasted from barrel.

This wine performed better from cask. Out of bottle, it displays a medium ruby color, and a distinctive nose of underbrush, damp earth, and loamy-tinged black currant fruit. Moderately tannic, with medium body and some angularity, this wine possesses good extract, but not much soul or character. Anticipated maturity: 2001-2012. This wine did not perform as well as I hoped. It has the potential to be one to two points better, but after tasting it several times, it appears to be a good but uninspiring effort.