1988 Château Branaire (Duluc-Ducru)

Community Tasting Notes (15) Avg Score: 90.2 points

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  3/9/2023 - PSPatrick wrote: 91 Points

  Bottle 5 of 12. Mostly consistent with prior bottles: Top shoulder, cork soaked, no seepage. Medium garnet colour. Red and dark fruit, cherry, black currant, blackberry, blueberry, plum, light vegetal notes, bell pepper, bitter cocoa, some coffee, cedar, leather, tobacco, graphite, spices, and balsamic notes, with good acidity, mostly resolved tannin, and good length. Medium-bodied, and well balanced. Pleasant light old age sweetness. Thinner towards the end. Even more harmonious on day two. Mature, and drinking well, but will keep.

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  5/9/2022 - PSPatrick wrote: 91 Points

  Bottle 4 of 12. Consistent with prior bottles: into the neck, cork soaked, no seepage. Medium ruby colour. Dark fruit, blueberry, blackberry, black currant, plum, light vegetal nots, light coffee, cedar, leather, tobacco, bitter cocoa, graphite, spices, and light balsamic notes, with good acidity, mostly resolved tannin, and very good length. Medium-bodied, smoothly-textured, and well balanced. Thins out towards the end. Consistent, maybe even smoother and more harmonious on day three. Mature, and in a good place, with no further upside potential, but no need to hurry either.

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  11/6/2021 - PSPatrick wrote: 91 Points

  3rd bottle of a 12-case. Consistent with my first bottle: The cork was completely soaked, with light seepage under the capsule. Medium ruby colour. Black currant, blueberry, blackberry, cherry, light bell pepper, light vegetal notes, coffee, cedar, leather, tobacco, graphite, spices, and balsamic notes, with good acidity, mostly resolved tannin, and very good length. A little thin, and starting to fade, but very enjoyable. My wife and I easily finished the bottle over dinner. I recommend decanting for 45 minutes. Drink now.

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  7/6/2021 - PSPatrick wrote: 91 Points

  First bottle of a 12-case I bought on auction recently (€40/bottle). I chose the bottle with the lowest filling-level: Top shoulder, cork completely soaked, some seepage. Dark garnet colour. Dark flowers, red and dark fruit, raspberry, sour cherry, black currant, blackberry, plum, cedar, tobacco, cigar ash, graphite, spices, and light balsamic notes, with good acidity, mostly resolved tannin, and very good length. A little thin in the middle and towards the end. The Decanter magazine described it as “slightly faded grandeur of an older wine”, and I could not describe it any better. Drink now.

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  12/30/2019 - bubucap Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Needs 1 hour decant to start singing: dark berries; green pepper; cedar; ashes; stays „cool climate“ throughout the evening; lacks intensity on the midpalate to get higher scores; good example of aged bdx but time to drink up

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View all 15 Community Tasting Notes

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