2022 Branaire Ducru
Buying options
Tasting notes
The nose is quiet at first, dark and brooding. There are hints of cassis, menthol and pencil shavings on the nose that build in the glass. There’s a vein of mineral freshness that runs right through the heart of the palate, alongside fine chalky tannins that intensify on the finish. It's hard to remember a Branaire-Ducru with such precision on the palate and purity of fruit.
Critic scores
Average Score
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
The 2022 Branaire-Ducru has a relatively straightforward nose, a mixture of red and black fruit that just lacks the complexity of its peers. The palate is medium-bodied with rounded tannins, low acid and dark chocolate tinged black fruit towards the finish. Maybe better bottles out there? Not gonna score this. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting in London.
The 2022 Branaire-Ducru has turned out just as brilliantly as I had hoped. Offering up a deep bouquet of crème de cassis and blackberries mingled with pencil shavings, burning embers and cigar box, it's medium to full-bodied, velvety and unctuous, with a rich core of fruit, lively acids and sweet structuring tannins. Iterated and complete, it concludes with a long, broad finish. This blend of 60.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31.5% Merlot, 5.5% Cabernet Franc and 2.5% Petit Verdot is worth a special effort to seek out.
Darker currants, leafy herbs, graphite, tobacco, and subtle orange zest-like nuances all emerge from the 2022 Château Branaire-Ducru, a ripe, concentrated, flawlessly balanced Saint-Julien. With medium to full-bodied richness, a concentrated, layered mouthfeel, and plenty of tannins, it's another no-brainer of a 2022 that readers will love to have in their cellar. The 2022 is 60.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31.5% Merlot, 5.5% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Petit Verdot, aged 18 months in oak.
About the producer
This Fourth Growth estate, just a stone’s throw from the wide expanse of the Gironde estuary, has been revitalised under the stewardship of former banker and businessman Patrick Maroteaux, who purchased the property in 1988.