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| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.7 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 148 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Jake Barnes on 2/6/2024 & rated 87 points: From a bottle purchased at auction, with a base-neck fill. Reportedly stored in a passive subterranean cellar. Excellent cork that was a bit spongy and crumbly but only soaked three-quarters of the way up and came out fully intact with the Durand. Decanted for sediment and served.
Very dark in the glass, showing garnet at the edge and while pouring. Initially, it had a nice nose of decaying leaves and indistinct aged fruit. It was not heavily concentrated but not at all dried out. Sweet on the attack, showing thinning, aged black fruits, bitters, and orange zest on the palate with a bright vein of acidity and dusty tannins. It had a very nice mouthfeel. An hour of air made the most of this bottle allowing the bitters notes to give way to some fresher red fruit.
Nice on the whole, but in the final analysis, this was just a very well-kept old wine with fairly generic old wine characteristics. 12.5% ABV (good/**/15/87) (639 views) | | | Tasted by englishman's claret on 11/25/2023 & rated 87 points: Followed for a few hours, this shows some pleasant raspberry and smoky cedar, but much of the rest of the notes are simply brett-derived. There’s not much wine underneath and the palate’s wooly tannins and modest depth corroborate that. (1376 views) | | | Tasted by Ruach on 7/15/2023 & rated 91 points: This is drinking remarkably smoothly for me. Opened the bottle about an hour before drinking and decanted to glasses 15 minutes before drinking. It still had some farm funkiest at the start but that went away really quickly. Aromas of dark red fruits, plums and cherries. A beautiful ruby color. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I plan to do a vertical tasting with the 2015 vintage in the next hour. (1342 views) | | | Tasted by jviz on 5/22/2023 & rated 92 points: Agree that this was fully mature. Quick pour from the top of the bottle. Tobacco leaf, blackcurrant and some green pepper not often seen in this vintage. Not the finest 89 but ready to drink and quite good. (1718 views) | | | Tasted by Vinumming & Ahhing on 1/25/2023 & rated 90 points: Branaire Ducru Vertical (The Market Brasserie at the Intercontinental at the O2, London): This takes a little time to get going but charms when it does, this is fully evolved and has a slight liquorice character that I found in none of the other wines, fruit on the palate is plummy and warming. Good job. (2297 views) | | | Tasted by novie1234 on 1/21/2023 & rated 90 points: Fully mature and probably on the backside of the drinking window. Gave a few minutes of air to blow off initial funk and it showed ok. Not great, probably not good - just ok. Nose was resolved I to the deep earth and layers of mineral and tabacco. I was more impressed by the nose than on the palate. It felt weak at times. Acid was there. It certainly was fresh but the core of resolved silky tannin and fruit was underwhelming. (1839 views) | | | Tasted by Coastalnative on 11/16/2022 & rated 93 points: From half bottle. Perfectly stored. Took a few minutes to open up. Could be nothing but Bordeaux. Light bret on the nose with deep red forest fruits, fresh cigar, iron and freshly turned soil.
Slightly tannic (it is an 89 after all) but very resolved. I imagine this will be in the same place for the next 10-15 years. Excellent stuff. (1916 views) | | | Tasted by brooklynguy on 11/28/2021: Decanted off the sediment at 4, and the nose was so lovely and open that I put it back in the bottle until 7, an hour before drinking. The wine is a perfectly lovely mature Bdx and it’s a pleasure to drink but it’s an average wine, at best. It shows a fundamental lack of balance in the spirity nose - alcohol listed at 12.7 but it shows higher. The nose shows some soil and leather and fruit, but without definition and pungency. Same on the palate, where although the wine is pleasant and mature, it is without pungency and articulation, and a bit weak on the finish. (3451 views) | | | Tasted by BAJRiley on 11/13/2021 & rated 93 points: Dinner at Aria, Sydney. Appearance: dark ruby, some garnet and modest bricking. Some development showing but not as much as I expected.
Nose: restrained blackcurrant, pencil shavings and mossy earth showed first. With time came some redcurrant, cedar, chocolate and spice.
Palate: medium bodied. Redcurrant and raspberry. Noticeable but velvety tannins. Acidity hasn't faded too much. Good complexity and balance and a persistent finish. Based on this bottle it is still drinking well. (2502 views) | | | Tasted by Barsacpinci on 4/20/2021: Drank over 2 days. Decanted for 2 hours. Garnet color with a fair amount of bricking. When first decanted, a really strong poopy nose that blew off mostly. Still surprised to continue to get a bit of bretty nose even on the second day. Nice dark black raspberry flavors on the palate with some acidity left. It was a bit thin on the mid-palate leaving me wanting more from the wine. It went OK with rack of lamb but I would have preferred a more robust wine. Finish was quite nice and lingering showing more lead and cedar. Overall, the wine was a bit past prime maybe by five years and I've had better examples of '89 Saint Juliens. (2870 views) | | | Tasted by Collector1855 on 4/19/2021 & rated 95 points: During a St.Julien dinner. Expressive nose also here with forest floor notes, game, dark fruit. Full bodied palate, nicely dissolved tannins. Very good but not as polished as the best wines of the night. (4024 views) | | | Tasted by dcwino on 11/21/2020 & rated 92 points: Fully mature nose medium expressive nose displaying subtle red fruit, plum, a hint of cherry, cedar, sous bois and earth. Medium concentration, nicely layered subtle red fruit, silky and polished, good acidity, earthy mineral, and a medium long subtle red fruit driven finish. Nothing remarkable but drinking nicely. (3970 views) | | | Tasted by fontaine on 10/23/2020 & rated 92 points: Vraiment une belle bouteille. Textbook vieux bordeaux. Sur des notes de terres, de sous-bois, champignons, mine de crayon. Comme je les aimes. (2315 views) | | | Tasted by WineGuyX on 5/5/2020 & rated 90 points: This is very elegant and correct, with nothing not to like, but it probably doesn't have as much character as it did 10 years ago. Beautiful hints of mint and black currant in the nose as well as wood spice. Medium-full bodied and still somewhat powerful. Better on it's on for the nuance than with braised oxtail (though, truly excellent acidity was a beautiful foil to the oxtail). 90 (2869 views) | | | Tasted by AdamHitchcock on 4/19/2020 & rated 92 points: Medium ruby with some bricking. Nice balance between tertiary (cedar, tobacco) and primary (red fruit) aromas. Wine is still pretty tannic but well integrated. Complex wine with a nice finish that seems like it could age for many more years. (2263 views) | | | Tasted by Burgnick on 1/23/2020 & rated 91 points: From an owc. It took a good 2 hour decant to get this going. Dark fruit, tobacco, and iron on the nose. Palate was powerful and fresh with depth. Perhaps its just missing nuance and complexity but still a very enjoyable claret. (2828 views) | | | Tasted by tbabes on 11/28/2019 & rated 94 points: The fill was into the neck and the cork was sound; opened an hour before thanksgiving dinner and enjoyed over the course of the evening. A medium garnet with some bricking. An alluring bouquet, with tertiary notes of cigar box, Forrest floor, dried plums, and hints of black truffle. Medium bodied, with impressive depth, pleasing texture, and a long and savory finish. This bottle was fully mature, and was drinking perfectly! (2687 views) | | | Tasted by "Rhône Rider" on 8/23/2019 & rated 92 points: Rubinrød med oransje kant. Moden vin med Tørket frukt, tobakk, moreller, litt vanilje, og ørlite lakris. Tydelig struktur, men godt moden. Jeg tenker 1990-95 evt 1989. 89 er riktig. Branaire Dicru. Frisk og veldig saftig og balansert. Lang. Ørlite over topp, men veldig flott vin. 92
Drikk opp! (2894 views) | | | Tasted by chcook on 8/14/2019: Cork wet 3/4th way up but intact. tonight this seemed more primary than my notes indicate last time. dark fruit and pencil shavings dominate the nose. on the palate there is stil considerable tannin, but integrating and nt nearly as fierce as on release. i am thinking another 5-10 yrs will be good for this one. (2158 views) | | | Tasted by Bernt Olav on 4/13/2019 & rated 93 points: God fill. åpnet 1 time før konsum. Klassisk og flott moden aroma med preg av espresso, tobakk, blyant, sur-søte bær og ett fint krydret preg. Intens og krydret aroma som tilfredsstiller alle forventninger til en moden Bdx av god kvalitet. I munn er den medium+ fyldig med godt integrerte tanniner og sammen med god lengde gjør at denne vinen møter forventningene. Må ha vært en perfekt flaske. Fungerte utmerket til en saftig grillet entrecote. 93-94 poeng. Poengene må sees i sammenheng med at dette er ett av mine favoritt slott med tanke på kvalitet og value. (2768 views) | | | Tasted by tbabes on 1/14/2019 & rated 90 points: The fill was base neck and the cork was pristine; popped, poured and consumed over the course of 4 hours. A dark ruby core with some bricking at the rim; notes of dried plums, roasted fennel and cigar box. Medium-bodied, soft and round texture, good depth, nice delineation and focus. This is fully mature, and is a perfect claret with dinner! (2849 views) | | | Tasted by Paul D on 9/6/2018 & rated 92 points: 1989 Bordeaux at Piccolino (Piccolino, Exchange Square, London): Red fruit, cedar, tobacco, some nice development, medium/full bodied, savoury red fruit, quite rich, touch of fruit cake, lovely vibrant acidity, good length finish (3542 views) | | | Tasted by SimonG on 9/6/2018 & rated 93 points: 1989 Bordeaux @ Piccolino (Piccolino, Liverpool Street Stn, London): Lovely, red fruited and cedar cigar box St J nose. Very smooth and silky. Lovely red fruit, cigar box and a touch of sandlewood too. Long and harmonious. Very attractive without quite the depth and extra plushness of Palmer. Better than a bottle in 2011. **** (3092 views) | | | Tasted by BSA on 6/16/2018 & rated 93 points: 2h decant. Cork 1/2 wet. Fully mature bottle, though distinctly St Julien. Some figs, leather, tobacco, earthy spices on top of the smooth red and ark berries. Detailed and very well integrated tannins. Fine, medium body. Still showing the elegance we detected 3-4 years back. I guess drink by 2020. (3165 views) | | | Tasted by Jeff Leve on 5/31/2018 & rated 91 points: A beautiful bottle at full maturity, the wine is soft, medium bodied, elegant and fresh. The ripe, red fruit notes are front and center. The lively finish is soft, polished, refined and complete, with its earthy, tobacco leaf and cocoa touches. There is nothing to be gained by holding this any longer. (4569 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Château Branaire (Duluc-Ducru) Producer website - Read more about Chateau Branaire Ducru
Chateau Branaire-Ducru
The origin of the Branaire-Ducru vineyards may be traced back to the 17th Century, when they were once part of the estate at Chateau Beychevelle. The owner of Beychevelle, Bernard de Valette, the Duc d'Epernon, left behind a string of unpaid bills when he died in 1642. In order to meet the demands of his creditors, Beychevelle was sold off, leading to the parcellation of the estate. The chateau and some of the vineyards were regrouped by subsequent owners, but part of the estate, purchased by Jean-Baptiste Braneyre in 1680, was destined to become what we know today as Branaire-Ducru. Incidentally another part became what we known today as Ducru-Beaucaillou.
Braneyre's descendants held tenure here for well over a century although his daughter, Marie Braneyre, married Pierre de Luc, and it is the de Luc name that is associated with the early history of this estate. Pierre and Marie had a son, Laurent de Luc, born in 1730, who subsequently married Marie de Chillaud of Fieux de Larenchère in 1779. They survived the Revolution, despite having been arrested, and went on to have a total of four children, including two sons, Louis and Justin Duluc, the persecution of the aristocracy having fostered a discretionary contraction of the family name. Laurent died in 1814, followed by Marie in 1818, but not before she had purchased a small house in Bourdieu, a hamlet very close to Chateau Beychevelle. Subsequently, Louis and Justin expanded and improved their inherited property, naming their chateau Braneyre (Branaire), for their grandmother and her father, Jean-Baptiste.
The Duluc family remain at Branaire during the creation of the 1855 classification, when the property was ranked as a fourth growth. A year later, however, Louis Duluc died without a direct heir, and the property was managed by other family members, including his widow, brother, sister and nephews. By 1875 his descendant Gustave Ducru and his sister, Zélie Ravez, were in charge; Gustave purchased his sister's share, becoming sole owner, but when he died in 1879 the estate passed back to her again. In 1899 she bequeathed the estate to a clutch of nephews, the Marquis de Carbonnier de Marzac, Comte de Ravez and Comte du Périer de Larsan. These three live on today on the Branaire-Ducru label, each one represented by a crown, and yet the whole estate was subsequently sold off in 1919 to Jean-Michel Tapie. Tapie's tenure was not distinguished, the wines being a paler imitation of many other wines produced in the St Julien commune. This was still the situation in 1988, when Branaire-Ducru was purchased by Patrick Maroteaux.
Chateau Branaire-Ducru is tucked away in the south-eastern most part of the St Julien appellation, close neighbours being Beychevelle, which lies between Branaire-Ducru and the Gironde, and Chateau St Pierre. The vineyards run west-east in several plots close to the chateau, over typical Médoc terroir of Quaternary alluvial gravels. There are 50 hectares in all, planted with 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot and just 4% Petit Verdot, with an average age approaching 40 years, although there are many vines approaching a century. The harvest is manual, and fermentation takes place in a modern, well-equipped cellar, funded by the Maroteaux administration and now run by managing director Philippe Dhalluin. The must and embryonic wine is fed through the cellar by gravity rather than pump, to ferment in stainless steel, temperature-controlled, before up to two years in oak, 50% new each vintage. The wine undergoes an egg-white fining prior to being bottled unfiltered. The grand vin is Chateau Branaire-Ducru, 15000 cases, and there is a second wine, Chateau Duluc, named for the Duluc family, of which there are 7000 cases per annum.
My most illuminating Branaire-Ducru experience was the 1989 vintage, tasted in a horizontal St Julien line-up. I remember the tasting quite well. There was one wine that was streets ahead of all the others, and this was revealed as Léoville-Barton; with no Gruaud or Las-Cases in the fray, what remained included the likes of Beychevelle, St Pierre, Talbot and so on. So what was this other wine, a close match to the Leoville-Barton in terms of quality, structure, perfume and pleasure? The great joy of blind tasting is that it removes preconceptions; the label was revealed as Branaire-Ducru, to some surprise. Under the direction of Maroteaux, a marked improvement in the quality of the wines, from the previously underperforming Branaire-Ducru, was already apparent by the 1989. In recent years, this trend has continued, and they have become solid buys; the 2005 vintage, tasted in early 2006, is a fitting testament to the investment made by the new owners. (18/7/06)Red 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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