Château Branaire-Ducru - St.-Julien 2022 (Pre-arrival) (750ml)
Price: $59.00
| Producer | Château Branaire-Ducru |
| Country | France |
| Region | Bordeaux |
| Subregion | St.-Julien |
| Varietal | Bordeaux Blend |
| Vintage | 2022 |
| Sku | 10312 |
| Size | 750ml |
Wine Spectator: 95 Points
A mix of mulled boysenberry and blackberry fruit, dried violet, iris and lively licorice snap notes gives this a textbook and very aromatic St.-Julien profile. A sleek iron detail courses underneath, allowing the fruit to sail unhindered through the finish, flanked judiciously by singed apple wood. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2027 through 2042.
Vinous: 95 Points
The 2022 Branaire-Ducru is a dense, plush wine, atypically so for a Saint-Julien that is usually more reserved. Unctuous in feel, with superb balance, the 2022 Branaire-Ducru is quite the extrovert. Soft contours wrap around a core of dark cherry, plum, mocha, new leather, espresso and licorice. Yields were 33HL per hectare, lower than the historical norm here in the upper 30s/lower 40s because of stress on the vines. The 2022 spent 16 months in French oak, with 60% new wood. This is a decidedly exotic Branaire-Ducru. I can't wait to see how it ages. Tasted two times.
James Suckling
The fine and intense tannins are very impressive because they fold beautifully into the wine, with blackcurrants, black cherries, hints of chocolate and hazelnuts. It's full-bodied with tight and focused fruit and a long and classy finish. Fantastic definition to this. Fresh. 60.5% cabernet sauvignon, 31.5% merlot, 5.5% cabernet franc, and 2.5% petit verdot.
The Wine Cellar Insider: 96-98 Points
Deep in color, the wine displays its bouquet of flowers before getting to all of its dark, red fruits, spice, mocha, nutmeg, vanilla, and black cherries. While the aromatics are enticing, it is on the palate, with all of its silky-textures, creaminess, energy and most importantly, purity of fruit and concentration that provides you with the best part of the experience. The finish has never been this defined, elegant and concentrated in any previous vintage of Branaire Ducru. This is an entirely new level of quality here. Clearly, this is the best vintage of Branaire Ducru ever produced! The wine blends 60.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31.5% Merlot, 5.5% Cabernet Franc, and 2.5% Petit Verdot. 14.3% ABV, 3.65 pH. The harvest took place September 12 - September 24. The yields were 34 hectoliters per hectare. Drink from 2027-2060.
Wine Advocate: 95-97 Points
A brilliant wine that's the finest young vintage I've tasted at this Saint-Julien estate, the 2022 Branaire-Ducru wafts from the glass with aromas of violets, blackberries, sweet cassis, licorice and pencil shavings, followed by a medium to full-bodied, layered and multidimensional palate that's succulent, sapid and perfumed, framed by supple tannins and concluding with a long, mouthwatering finish. It's a blend of 60.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31.5% Merlot, 5.5% Cabernet Franc and 2.5% Petit Verdot that checks in at a healthy pH of 3.65. Why is it so good this year? In addition to the quality of the vintage, the new gravity-flow winery means fruit can be handled more gently, and picked more precisely, sub-block by sub-block, as the team now have fully 63 vats at their disposal, almost double their capacity through 2020. Given the Maroteaux family's sensible approach to pricing, this is likely to number among the must-purchase wines of the 2022 vintage, and it comes warmly recommended.
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