Branaire Ducru 2017

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.

The 2017 Branaire Ducru has a fresh bouquet with lifted brambly red fruit mixed with cedar and woodland aromas - classic Saint-Julien. The oak here is nicely integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with light tannins, mainly red fruit mixed with leather and cedar. It needs just a little more substance on the mid-palate and it tapers in towards the finish. But it does feel fresh and vigorous, providing pleasant drinking over the next couple of decades. 2022 - 2040

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

Yields here in 2017 were down from 50 hl/ha in the previous vintage to 39.6 hl/ha and the blend is a classic 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot,6.5% Petit Verdot and 4.5% Cabernet Franc. Juicy on the nose with plums and cherries supported by notes of fresh coffee. This has a touch of ripeness but has great typicity. The palate is compact and elegant, with dark berry fruits tempered by fresh acidity and refined but quintessentially medocain tannins. This is polished, but classic Bordeaux, with a hint of graphite and cool freshness on the finish. Not a powerhouse but one to offer delicious mid-term drinking.

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.