Chateau Branaire-Ducru Saint-Julien (Grand Cru Classé) 2018

Owned by the Maroteaux family since 1988, Château Branaire Ducru is a sure bet in the Saint Julien appellation. This relatively confidential production (only 12,000 cases) is a must in the Médoc for all lovers of Saint Julien wines.

After manual harvesting, the grapes are vinified in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats. Each plot is vinified in a vat of suitable size and the vats are filled by gravity. The wines are aged in barrels for 16 to 20 months with 60 to 65% new oak. The wines of Château Branaire-Ducru display a burst of fruit, finesse and suppleness characteristic of the property.

This Fourth Growth St Julien estate has been performing consistently well for the past several vintages and 2016 is no exception.

The 2018 vintage red wine from Saint-Julien stands out with its intense colour. Its aromatic bouquet reveals ripe fruit, with a certain freshness preventing it from becoming too heavy. This is also one of the peculiarities of this vintage: the perfectly achieved balance between ripeness and freshness. And the precision of Château Branaire-Ducru is quite exemplary. This powerful and fleshy wine develops through the palate, with a refined density and fresh acidity, crucial to achieving a complex aromatic profile that persists for a long time. A very successful vintage.

Awards :

2 / 3 Le Guide Hachette

93 Parker Wine Advocate

92 Decanter

94 Wine Spectator

97 James Suckling

96 Vinous

16.5 /20 Jancis Robinson