Region | |
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Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > St Julien |
Colour | Red |
Type | Still |
A classic Saint Julien Chateau that produces wines of real St Julien class and structure. 60 hectares of vines planted with 65%Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot.
View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château Branaire-Ducru
The Branaire-Ducru 2017 has a medium to deep garnet-purple color. It springs with savory notions of dried herbs, black olives, and beef drippings, over a core of cassis and black raspberries, plus a waft of cedar. Light to medium-bodied, the palate is tightly wound with black and red berry layers, supported by ripe, grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing long and minerally.
Tasted blind. Deep ruby-purple colour. Pure blackcurrant fruit with an edge of vanilla and cinnamon. Silky, plump fruit on the palate, there is a sense of easy ripeness here. Soft and fleshy, this is a moreish example that still has enough tannin to prop up the fruit and add needed bite. Should offer good drinking pleasure for a decade or more.
Drink 2023 – 2034
Notes of raspberries and orange peel with tar on the nose and palate. Medium body, firm and silky tannins and a fresh, lively finish. Pleasing young red. Better after 2021.
A little tight, austere and hard to read. I tasted this on several occasions and each time it needed to be taken slowly, giving it time to unwind and to come out of its shell. There is a lovely richness to it that builds through the mid-palate, and the well expressed plum and blackberry fruit is soft. It's a balanced and elegant St-Julien, but just a touch underpowered.
Drinking Window 2024 - 2038
Very deep crimson, one of the deepest. Looks very healthy! Some silkiness on the nose – quite a surprise! A tribute to the late Patrick Maroteaux? So polished and fine. Really rather beautiful. Umami, unforced but definitely St-Julien. I seem to like this much more than Julia liked the sample she tasted. There’s a slight suggestion of leafiness but not excessively so.
Drink 2023-2032
Deep cherry red. Fragrant with pure, pretty cassis on the nose. Slightly leafy. But a little dilute on the palate. The tannins are light enough to give balance but it's pretty lightweight overall, hence the rather early drinking date.
Drink 2022-2030
A rather closed and edgy Branaire with some green highlights adding bitterness and drama. The fruit is glossy and juicy and aside from the taut notes which make the mouth-water such is their attack - this is a successful wine. Will this bitterness subside? Yes, I have a feeling that the fruit will managed to rehydrate the palate perfectly. I would rarely bet against this Château.
This is very tight and focused with a precise depth of blackberry and blueberry fruit. Full body, melted tannins and a fresh and vivid finish. Shows a compacted style.
Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2017 Branaire-Ducru gives up plum preserves, baked blackcurrants, kirsch and boysenberries with hints of earth, tobacco, herbs and pencil lead. Medium-bodied, the palate is fresh and clean with herbal sparks and a slight chew to the texture, finishing savory. 2020 - 2030
The deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Branaire-Ducru gives up notes of baked black berries, red cherries and mulberries with touches of potpourri and smoked meats. Medium-bodied with a lively line lifting the good concentration of red and black fruits, it has a chewy frame and grippy finish.