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| | Vintage | 2009 |  Label 1 of 353 
 | | Type | Red | | Producer | Château Branaire-Ducru (web) | | Variety | Red Bordeaux Blend | | Designation | n/a | | Vineyard | n/a | | Country | France | | Region | Bordeaux | | SubRegion | Médoc | | Appellation | St. Julien | | UPC Code(s) | 000000144018, 3364420020633, 3419466180046, 3448821405180, 3563680177792, 3760114631152, 3760114631169, 3760114631183, 3760114631190, 3760114632159, 3760114632166, 400001366226, 639737593402, 649185001923, 649944111900, 810910020261, 9300633311643 |
| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 92.6 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 283 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Zweder on 4/24/2024 & rated 93 points: HWS Bordeaux 2009 vs 2010 (By me): The bouquet is still a bit lactic, but also luxurious with beautiful oak and cedar and some bell pepper. On the palate juicy red and dark berries, fresh acidity and round tannin. An elegant and delicious wine of great finesse. Very young maturity stage now. (1439 views) | | | Tasted by WhooskeyWine on 4/13/2024 & rated 92 points: Medium ruby with slight brickish tinge. Bright bouquet, with aromas of bell pepper, blackberry, cassis, iron, plum, stone. Plus body, plus tannins, plus acid. Grippy yet supple tannins with lengthy finish. Coming from a magnum bottle, still needs more time to develop, but otherwise drinking well. 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc. (1619 views) | | | Tasted by Zweder on 2/20/2024 & rated 93 points: Monthly Tuesday group "The Dead Sparrow": Pauillac and St. Julien (By me @ the factory): Uncorked the day before the tasting and double decanted approx. 3 hours prior to the tasting. In the bouquet dark berries, some cherries, well dosed oak, graphite and cigar box. Same on the palate, very juicy acidity, round tannin with a pleasant bite, a touch of pleasant sweetness and a great length. Delicious wine in its young maturity stage and will be great over the next decade at least. (2772 views) | | | Tasted by wineotim on 1/15/2024 & rated 93 points: Almost 4 years since my last review, this bottle was surprisingly firm. Fruit was tight and somewhat restrained. I was expecting a little more roundness on the palate but there's still a long future ahead. Mineral, graphite/pencil lead with cherry fruit, fine balance and terroir. (3619 views) | | | Tasted by Redteeth on 12/19/2023: Gave the bottle a good decanting. the cork was sound and there was a fair amount of sediment. The wine was in good shape and very enjoyable over two days. It's in a good place for drinking now but should hold for several more years. (3190 views) | | | Tasted by Juliansi on 12/15/2023 & rated 89 points: How quickly.. this is no.16 over the month of Bordecembre!
Looks like Saint-Julien is very well represented at our dinner, this appelation took up 3 of the 6 spots!
70% Cab, 22% Merlot, 5% CF with 3% PV. Needs time to open, bottle breathed 2 hours but the nose was seemingly in-out.
Comes across as being rather youthful, this 2009 once again reinforces its a brilliant vintage and one where some wines are actually accessible today too.
Tannins are mainly resolved with only a light grip remaining, shows itself in a very fine natured way.
Ripe blackcurrant, fresh cedar with fragrant graphite laced with black pepper. Acid M+.
Amazingly, I guessed right.. LB 2009.
Thanks Choe for sharing this at MERA, one of 8 bottles we enjoyed at our very early Christmas gathering.
15th Dec 2023
Mark1NPT.. amazing that 10,000 miles away I had this very same vintage on possibly the same Friday!
Damansara Kim, Malaysia (3018 views) | | | Tasted by Mark1npt on 12/15/2023 & rated 94 points: Haven't had one of these in 5 years but spurred on by other CT'ers here this past week. Decanted 1 hour but really needs 2 to drink its best. This is dark red and rich fruit and belies its 14 years of age. Punches younger than you think it would. It's still drinking quite strong and shows no evidence of slowing down. Balance is the key here, with all elements. It's just beautiful........ (3612 views) | | | Tasted by salcorn on 12/2/2023 & rated 91 points: Most popular wine at our 2009 tasting event. Still tight, but with decent fruit balance. No rush to try the next bottle, as this has the structure to last a long time. (2694 views) | | | Tasted by salcorn on 12/2/2023 & rated 91 points: Most popular wine at out 2009 tasting event. Still tight, but with decent fruit balance. No rush to try the next bottle, as this has the structure to last a long time. (2256 views) | | | Tasted by gtilley on 11/28/2023: Really classy. I've previously observed that this was red fruited and light but now it's showing as a much more rounded out and elegant offering. Has a distinct oak backbone - but prominent rather than dominant - and then glorious layers of violet, dark cocoa, cinnamon (or something in the woody spice department), and silky, liqueur-like blackcurrant. This was really joyful. (2357 views) | | | Tasted by Vine on 11/27/2023 & rated 94 points: Over two nights. Cherry on the nose; blackberry in the mouth. A lovely wine drinking well now. We had this wine and the 2009 Leoville Barton in successive weeks, and this was the superior wine at this time. (2309 views) | | | Tasted by MattB72 on 11/24/2023 & rated 92 points: Needs a long decant. Very good after a few hrs. (1879 views) | | | Tasted by englishman's claret on 11/12/2023 & rated 93 points: The 2009 Branaire-Ducru is a gorgeous wine, a fact obvious as soon as it's poured into the decanter. The nose spans a spectrum of red fruit - cherry, raspberry, and strawberry - voluptuous yet elegant (as always, at Branaire). Allspice, rose, and cedar round out the nose, which shows so many of the positive attributes of a warm year in terms of its accessibility, volume, creaminess, and plush textures. This coin has two sides, though, and palate hints at the difficulty of such a year as the alcohol - labeled at 13.5% - pokes through slightly. It's not terribly out of balance, but it does hold the wine back from really soaring as some 2009s do. This shows well as soon as it is poured, shutting down with 30 minutes-3 hours of air, re-emerging by hour 12 and showing nicely still at hour 24 (if the nose is less articulate, the palate is more so). In about 5 years, I expect to find this wine fully ready. (2929 views) | | | Tasted by dubdub on 11/1/2023: Dark purple in the glass. Closed and muted at first, needed some time to open up. Deliciously balanced dark fruit, fragrant woods, leather. A very nice effort. (2446 views) | | | Tasted by sjfunkenhauser on 7/30/2023 & rated 94 points: In a bit of a weird spot, I'd wait a few years to open any more. Very restrained right out of the bottle, but with quite a bit of air it starts to open up. A great wine from a fantastic vintage. Still very youthful with plenty of fresh fruit, but the tertiary is certainly developing. Wonderful balance, silky smooth tannins and a long evolving finish.
Deep ruby colour.
Pronounced aromas of black berry, cassis, black cherries, fresh dark plums, mushroom, leather, loam, cedar, cinnamon, mocha, coffee grounds, cigar box.
Pronounced palate.
Medium (+) body, high acidity, high silky tannins, long finish. (3388 views) | | | Tasted by jsmorris707 on 6/17/2023 flawed bottle: Double decanted for 2 hrs. The nose was restrained & not what I remembered. It tasted ok, but also less than I recall. A couple of tasters believed that it was slightly corked. I am usually very sensitive to TCA & did not pick it out, but that would explain the result. (3729 views) | | | Tasted by j30 on 5/26/2023 & rated 92 points: A very young and fruity wine just starting to be drinkable. Good concentration and fine tannins. Going to enjoy this in several years. (3918 views) | | | Tasted by DCHawkeye on 5/18/2023 & rated 94 points: I've not popped one of these in over a year and a half. Opened about an hour or so before dinner. No decant, but this was humming from the get-go. Great nose/fruit - excellent bottle and a great value. (3893 views) | | | Tasted by popopdrops on 5/12/2023 & rated 92 points: Dekantert. Herlig nese og munn. Fra start. Dette er den siste og beste flaske fra kassen. Irriterende at jeg ikke ventet lengre med de foregående, for dette er bare herlig. Også dag 2, meget pen. (1684 views) | | | Tasted by Shugs_Claret on 4/14/2023: Nose took a bit of coaxing to open up. Dark fruit, loam. Oak integrated. Early maturity. (3975 views) | | | Tasted by lim.calvinb on 3/30/2023 & rated 93 points: Still very primary, think another 4-5 years at least, back to the cellar then.
2 hour decant for anyone trying this out now. (3602 views) | | | Tasted by benny on 1/30/2023 & rated 94 points: The wine has developed nicely. One hour decant. (4239 views) | | | Tasted by O'Meara on 1/3/2023: This has improved since my last tasting. Decanted 2.5 hours, and it helped round out the wine. Still, it seems like this is in a dumb phase, holding back on the boquet and palate. The cocoa that I sometimes get from this Chateau was also missing, hence my hunch that this needs more time. On the plus side, this showed the sort of finesse of tannins that I love about good StJ. Definitely approachable now, but I think the best is yet to come. (3793 views) | | | Tasted by rossi.wine on 1/2/2023 & rated 93 points: Again excellent, but still rather youthful. Drink or keep. 92-94 (3730 views) | | | Tasted by mayoutze on 10/22/2022 & rated 80 points: Short, lost all fruit (4943 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Jeb Dunnuck
JebDunnuck.com, Up From The Cellar #6 & Misc New Releases (6/14/2019)
(Chateau Branaire-Ducru) Login and sign up and see review text. | By James Suckling
JamesSuckling.com (3/11/2019)
(Château Branaire-Ducru St.-Julien, France) Subscribe to see review text. | By Neal Martin
Vinous, A Test Of Greatness: 2009 Bordeaux Ten Years On (March 2019) (3/1/2019)
(Branaire-ducru Branaire-ducru Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Neal Martin
Vinous, A Test Of Greatness: 2009 Bordeaux Ten Years On (March 2019) (3/1/2019)
(Branaire-ducru Branaire-ducru Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (2/14/2019)
(Ch Branaire-Ducru St-Julien Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jane Anson
Decanter, Bordeaux 2009 10 years on (2/7/2019)
(Château Branaire-Ducru, St-Julien, Bordeaux, France, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (2/7/2019)
(Ch Branaire-Ducru St-Julien Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jane Anson
Decanter, Château Branaire-Ducru vertical (12/14/2018)
(Château Branaire-Ducru, St-Julien, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jeb Dunnuck
JebDunnuck.com, Up From the Cellar and Misc. New Releases (12/12/2017)
(Branaire-Ducru) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Chris Kissack
Winedoctor, November 2013 (11/1/2013)
(Château Branaire-Ducru St Julien Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Julia Harding, MW
JancisRobinson.com (4/30/2013)
(Ch Branaire-Ducru St-Julien Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (1/17/2013)
(Ch Branaire Ducru St-Julien Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, July/August 2012, IWC Issue #163
(Chateau Branaire Ducru Saint Julien) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (5/3/2012)
(Ch Branaire Ducru St-Julien Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (10/18/2011)
(Ch Branaire Ducru St-Julien Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Chris Kissack
Winedoctor, October 2011
(Château Branaire-Ducru (St Julien)) Subscribe to see review text. | By Chris Kissack
Winedoctor, October 2011
(Château Branaire-Ducru St Julien Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (5/4/2011)
(Ch Branaire Ducru St-Julien Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (2/17/2011)
(Ch Branaire Ducru St-Julien Red) Subscribe to see review text. | The World of Fine Wine, June 2010, Issue #28
(Château Branaire 4ème Cru) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Ian D'Agata
Vinous, May/June 2010, IWC Issue #150
(Chateau Branaire Ducru Saint Julien) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (4/1/2010)
(Ch Branaire Ducru St-Julien Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By John Gilman
View From the Cellar, Mar/Apr 2010, Issue #26, The 2009 Bordeaux Vintage- Futures’ Glory?
(Château Branaire-Ducru) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Chris Kissack
Winedoctor, March 2010
(Chateau Branaire-Ducru St Julien) Subscribe to see review text. | By Panel Tasting
Decanter
(Château Branaire-Ducru, St-Julien, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Georgina Hindle
Decanter, Château Branaire-Ducru: producer profile
(Château Branaire-Ducru, Cabernet Sauvignon, St-Julien, Bordeaux, France, Red) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of JebDunnuck.com and JamesSuckling.com and Vinous and JancisRobinson.com and Decanter and Winedoctor and The World of Fine Wine and View From the Cellar. (manage subscription channels) |
| Château Branaire-Ducru Producer website
Addt'l Info
A visit to the estate of Château Branaire-Ducru St Julien Bordeaux -
https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2019/08/a-visit-to-chateau-branaire-ducru.htmlRed Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comBordeaux Bordeaux Wine Guide
Vins Bordeaux (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux)
History of Bordeaux
History of 1855 Bordeaux Classification
"2009 is all about ripeness, with wines impressively packed with ripe fruit and high alcohol levels. They are showy, in-your-face, and full of pleasure. The 2010s have the fruit and alcohol levels of the 2009s, but with a compelling freshness on the finish that balances the fruit and provides a perfect sense of structure." - Ben Nelson
"2016 is a landmark vintage in certain spots of Bordeaux and it should be remembered as one of the most inspired campaigns of the last 40-50+ years." -Jon Rimmerman
"The quality of red Bordeaux in 2016 was universally lauded – although the response to the en primeur campaign was muted. Quantity was high too, with the equivalent of 770 million bottles of wine produced. An exceptionally dry summer with cool nights eventually, thanks to mid September rain, resulted in small, thick-skinned, ripe grapes, and the wines are marked by high tannin and acidity, with superb aromatic fragrance." - Jancis Robinson
"2017 was complicated, but there are some excellent wines. Expect plenty of freshness and drinkability from wines that will offer excellent value, and others that will rival 2016 in terms of ripeness and ageability. But they are likely to be the exception not the rule, making careful selection key." - Jane Anson
"In the past, a vintage such as 2022 may have been overripe, raisined and low in acidity but 2022 had a sneaky little reservoir in its back pocket - a near perfect marriage of cool/cold/rain the previous winter and the previous vintage that literally soaked the soils (a key to why 2022 is not 2003...or 1893)." - Jon RimmermanMédoc Vins du Médoc (Conseil des Vins du Médoc) - Read More about the Medoc
VdB
The eight precisely defined appellations of the whole of the Médoc (from Blanquefort Brook to the north of the Bordeaux built-up area, almost to the Pointe de Grave) may claim the Médoc appellation. But there is also a specific territory in the north of the peninsula which produces exclusively wines with this appellation. In the great majority, the Médocs come from the north of the peninsula. The great individuality of this region is that the number of vines has increased more recently here than elsewhere, apart from a few isolated spots where vines have grown for many years. Today, the size of the small estate has brought about the development of a powerful co-operative movement. Four co-operatives out of five belong to the group called Unimédoc which ensures aging, bottling and marketing a large proportion of their wines.St. Julien VdB
Read more detailed information on St. Julien and its wines The seventeenth century pioneers Traces are to be found of a Saint-Julien de Rintrac, perhaps Saint-Julien's earliest name, as from the thirteenth century. But we have to wait until the seventeenth century pioneers, urban and rural aristocrats, discover the exceptional merits of these terroirs.
Traces of this system still exist today in the structure of estates within the appellation: by the side of the two villages of Beychevelle and Saint-Julien, the large estates are heavily preponderant, representing more than four fifths of the total surface of vineyards.
The terrain is practically identical over all the commune. Only the proximity of the estuary, sometimes close, sometimes further away, can cause slight variations in climate. In fact, Saint-Julien-Beychevelle's layer of gravel takes the form of a huge rectangle over 3 miles long and 2 miles wide. And the alluvial deposits are particularly well fragmented into ridges of Garonne gravel of the early Quaternary. Accordingly, the vines are safeguarded from stagnant water.
The wines from the Saint-Julien appellation may be recognized by their unparalleled bouquet, particularly harmonious and mild. They have a fine deep colour and combine the finesse of their aromas and a solid constitution. They have body, are very rich in flavour and have a delicious and delicate bouquet.
Production conditions (Decree dated November 14, 1936)
In order to have the right to the Saint-Julien appellation of controlled origin, red wines must:
- come from the commune of Saint-Julien and from precisely defined parcels in the communes of Cussac, and Saint-Laurent, "excluding the parcels situated on recent alluvium and sand on impermeable subsoils",
- satisfy precise production conditions: grape-varieties (Cabernet-Sauvignon, Cabernet-Franc, Carmenère, Merlot Noir, Petit Verdot, Cot or Malbec), minimum of sugar (178 grammes - 6.27 oz. - per litre of must) degree (an acquired 10°5) base yield (45 hectolitres per hectare). |
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