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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 93 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 50 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Octavio_91 on 12/16/2022 & rated 94 points: Three our decant and still shy at the beginning. Opened up more after a couple of hours.
Still quite youthful for an 05 with lots of notes of fresh fruit - cassis and blackberry - and some herbaceous and floral notes.
The use of new oak is evident but not overbearing. Vanilla and chocolate stand out.
Some tertiary notes emerging, leather, bacon, a bit of forest floor and a fair amount of blackberry jam.
Chalky tannins that can still soften but which are not too overbearing.
Overall, though this wine will likely continue to develop nicely, it doesn't have the underlying intensity to have a long-lived maturity. Peak drinking, with a rapid decline to follow, likely in the next 5-7 years. (1693 views) | | | Tasted by Cailles on 11/23/2022 & rated 92 points: Ten Vintages Haut Bailly vs Mission HB: Preamble: All wines tasted blind in 10 vintage flights (1994-2015). To every flight one random third wine from Pessac Leognan added (2x Haut Brion, 2x Smith, 2x Pape Clement, 1x Branon, 1x Luchy Halde, 1x Carmes, 1x Chevalier). All wines opened a few hours before consumption but no decanting.
Some findings:
1) Haut Bailly outperformed Mission (5 vs 4 wins, 92.5 vs 90.5 average). 2) Haut Bailly is a rather structured wine which seems to shine bright in ripe and warm vintages, without any form of excess ripeness or extraction. 3) When done right (05/15), Mission eclipses Haut Bailly with its depth and delineation , but several vintages showed a bit too ripe but especially with the alcohol not well masked (09/10). 4) Pessac wines usually need quite some air to open up. In this setting (no decanting), most wines needed a lot of swirling to fully open up and will need more cellar time. 5) The best wines today were Haut Bailly 09 (96pts) & 10 (95pts) and Mission 05 & 15 (95pts).
TN: Medium expressive nose, green bell pepper, minerality but no charm, not enough fruit. Better on the palate with red and dark red fruit, some coffee notes, some blue fruit, herbs and minerality. Overall a bit light and quite short but with fairly fine tannins, high but well-integrated acidity and good finesse and balance. This is a very solid wine with a beautiful aromatic expression on the attack as the highlight. In this flight it could not compete with the fabolous Mission.
Decanting: 1-2 hours should help to open it up. (2911 views) | | | Tasted by pakabear on 7/17/2022 & rated 92 points: Still quite tannic, could use another 5-10 years but was drinakable now with a 2 hour decant and some aeration. (1940 views) | | | Tasted by sastewart on 6/30/2022 & rated 93 points: Purchased as futures and stored at 55 degrees. Decanted 45 minutes ahead. Classic Graves with scorched earth and black fruits on the nose. Plenty of earth, tobacco and graphite along with blackberry and cassis on the palate. The wine evolved more than a 2003 Calon Segur and 2000 Leoville Barton over the course of several hours but still had a nice tannin/acid balance. I will drink my remaining 2 over the next 5-7 years..93 points (1812 views) | | | Tasted by Tannic Monster on 2/13/2022 & rated 94 points: Gorgeous Bordeaux drinking well. Still relatively young, but hard to imagine it any better in the future. 1.5 hour decant seemed just right. red fruit forward with lush cherries dominating the palate and nose. Just a touch of barnyard on the bouquet and plenty of tertiary flavors blending in harmony. I didn't log what I paid for this but it has to be a real bargain. (2143 views) | | | Tasted by gtonn on 1/25/2022 & rated 91 points: Vibrant, bright. Drinking very well (1266 views) | | | Tasted by BradA on 12/10/2020 & rated 92 points: Pnp. Still bright in the glass with a nose of tobacco leaf. Leisurely enjoyed over 2.5 hours, and a good wine to have with food. The lushness faded later and the finish sharpened a bit. Still a very nice wine, paid $80 and it doesn’t quite meet its price.... (2341 views) | | | Tasted by wren460 on 11/18/2020 & rated 93 points: Amazing wine. Highly concentrated and extracted, not your typical bordeaux. Somewhat vegetal and I got a LOT of green pepers. The wine is extremely similar to a Don Melchor from Chile. Not your typical Bordeaux but also you will never think its a Napa blend. I loved the wine and I think that it is close to its peak. Very elegant (1943 views) | | | Tasted by davidsm on 9/7/2020 & rated 93 points: Coravined a glass last night. Needed about 2 hours to open then was in a perfect spot. No rush here but with a proper decant you will be well rewarded. (1934 views) | | | Tasted by overkloud on 8/1/2020 & rated 94 points: Very much the same notes as 6 years ago. The tanning softened nicely even though you can still feel it. The same fruit is still there to balance the weight and tannin. Very enjoyable and balanced. Loved to see it evolved the way I expected it to. A great wine in the making. It shall still get better from here. (1742 views) | | | Tasted by up4wine on 12/25/2019 & rated 92 points: Had with Lamb, which was a nice pairing. The son gave it a 91. (2460 views) | | | Tasted by Jeff Leve on 10/14/2019 & rated 93 points: Round, lush, fleshy, full and loaded with smoky, dark red fruits, coffee and smoke. The deep colored wine remains youthful. But the fruit is so ripe and the tannins are so soft, you can enjoy this now, or wait another 3-5 years. (4112 views) | | | Tasted by NickP on 3/30/2019 & rated 93 points: This was fabulous.opened this with first grilled steaks of the season. I believe at peak but with legs to go many more years. Beautiful dark ruby red with immediate fragrance right out of the bottle. Dark berry and cassis mixed with cedar and leather. Wonderful to inhale before drinking. On the palate rich and dense flavor with the berries and cassis coming through first then the more herbal and earthy notes. A very distinct but not overpowering cedar made this a special pleasure for me. I’ve been drinking it for 3 days (yes extraordinary patience!) and its held up great. Looking forward to a couple more bottles in the future. (2735 views) | | | Tasted by Quiet Lion on 11/22/2018 & rated 93 points: From double magnum. Wet leather is the highlight of this lovely 2005 Bordeaux served for Thanksgiving dinner. Pleased a crowd of seven and we were ready for more. Showing beautifully and just what you'd hope for from an adolescent left-bank Bordeaux. (2639 views) | | | Tasted by UFGators on 9/25/2018: A way better showing. Wine is lush with the classic Pessac Léognan smoke and tobacco. Concentrated and silky tanins. 94-95 (2547 views) | | | Tasted by NickP on 8/26/2018 & rated 90 points: Excellent Bordeaux ready to drink. Wonderful with steak (2424 views) | | | Tasted by UFGators on 8/25/2018 & rated 93 points: A high quality Bordeaux with a modern style. I cannot dispute the quality of the wine but I often did not taste the Pessac Leognan flavors I was expecting. Tastes more like a Napa bdx style blend which isn’t a bad thing but not what I was expecting. (2189 views) | | | Tasted by Martin Amis on 3/9/2018: This wine’s a burden. Highly extracted, but still a little vegetal. Heavy, like syrup. Has only gotten more concentrated with age, which was not what I’d hoped. Glad to be finishing this case. (2449 views) | | | Tasted by Collector1855 on 12/9/2017 & rated 93 points: After a short decant, expressive nose of barnyard, dark fruit, earth. The palate cannot fully follow up on the fruity nose and shows the rougher tannins of the dry summer. Still good. Decant for 1h before drinking this and go with meat. (3076 views) | | | Tasted by otessler on 12/3/2017 & rated 94 points: Great now. Had with Tenderloin tips. Well integrated. Guess you can wait a bit longer but don't really need to. (2341 views) | | | Tasted by Zweder on 10/7/2017 & rated 94 points: Regular dinner group (By JvT @ Fitzgerald): Extremely dark and concentrated color. In the bouquet and on the palate dark berries. Green bell pepper, a lot of acidity and tannin. The tannin is ripe but also a bit green, so this wine probably has a long future. It is a beauty already. 94++ (2813 views) | | | Tasted by gtonn on 5/7/2017 & rated 93 points: Dark red fruit with notes of cedar, tobacco and a bit of barnyard. Medium finish. Still young. (3093 views) | | | Tasted by gtonn on 1/24/2017 & rated 93 points: Cedar, leather, graphite on the nose. Softening tannins. Long finish (2858 views) | | | Tasted by J3r0me H@n on 11/7/2016 & rated 94 points: Was the consensus WOTN. Big Big wine that took almost 4 hours in a decanter to fully open up. Nose was like a wet forest of cedar tree and fresh beef with hte palate showing smoked black ripe cherries with herbaceous dark chocolate finish that kept going.
Still fairly young and has a decade left easily. (3166 views) | | | Tasted by yonster24 on 11/6/2016: Man, this was great! Bought this years ago and will look to buy more. Still on the young side but not shut down at all. Cigar / dark fruit / smoke / wet cement on the nose. Full bodied on the palate with a little green coming through (but not in a bad way at all.) Tannins very prevalent on the finish but not harsh at all. Acidity on point. Makes for a very well made and well -balanced wine. This easily has 10 years life left on it. Still feels young and primary almost but not overly so. In a great spot and will be for a long time. (3274 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (2/23/2017)
(Ch Branon Pessac-Léognan Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (2/18/2009)
(Ch Branon Pessac-Léognan Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Julia Harding, MW
JancisRobinson.com (7/15/2008)
(Ch Branon Pessac-Léognan Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 2007, IWC Issue #132
(Branon Pessac-Leognan) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 2006, IWC Issue #126
(Branon Pessac-Leognan) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (4/14/2006)
(Ch Branon Pessac-Léognan Red) Subscribe to see review text. |  By Gary Vaynerchuk
Wine Library TV, 2005 Bordeaux update, where is the market going?, Episode #52 (6/16/2006)
(CHATEAU BRANON) LEGENDARY VINTAGE; COLOR-extrodinary; NOSE-really nice; TASTE-very bitter tannins on the finish, clear cut black fruit, currant, cassis, Asian spice, Asian spice, strawberry; finish is killing, REALLY, REALLY EXTRAORDINARY; MASSIVE; RP-92/95, GV-94/98 94-98 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of JancisRobinson.com and Vinous and Wine Library TV. (manage subscription channels) |
| Château Branon Producer Website - Read more about Chateau BranonRed 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 RimmermanGraves Vins de Graves (Conseil des Vins de Graves) - Read more about Pessac Leogan Graves and its winesPessac-Léognan Pessac-Leognan reds:
Grape Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot
Soil: Predominantly gravel and sandy rock, with varying proportions of clay and sandstone
Surface Area: 1,491 ha
Pessac-Leognan whites:
Grape Varieties: Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon
Soil: Gravel and rocks covered with sand, sandstone, and clay
Surface Area: 275 ha |
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