Chateau Branaire-Ducru 4eme Cru Classe, Saint-Julien

Similar service and profile as my note of 5-19-2025.

2009 vintage

Corked unfortunately. In the nose hard to discern anything. Underneath this seemed to show a quite fresh, lighter style. The palate also left an ok impression.

2009 vintage

I'm feeling generous - if half points would have been possible I would have said 93.5 - this was a particularly smooth example but still with a good backbone.

2009 vintage

decanted 4 hours beforehand which the wine needed.Whilst the wine was fully integrated, it lacks the elegance of it's neighbours.A perennial underperformer relative to it's neighbours but priced accordingly

2009 vintage

4th Saturday Group: Robust Winter Reds (J&L’s) : Leftover from the prior evening's Friday group tasting. This has held up very well overnight. Iodine and dark fruit notes follow through on the palate. Excellent.

2003 vintage

Dark red with some ageing. Lots of black fruit with a really nice nose. Still has lots of tannins and acid to support further ageing. This is an excellent 2003.

2003 vintage

3rd Friday Group Tasting (R&R's) : Blind. Deep opaque red core with just the slightest bit of bricking at the meniscus. Aromas of black and red berry fruit, tobacco, herbs and iron. Full-bodied with medium tannins and flavors of iron, red fruit and dried herbs. Lingering finish. Balanced. Clearly our other Bordeaux, and showing much younger/less-evolved than the Cantemerle in the first flight. This had been double decanted 3.5 hours before service. Hold to 2030+.

2003 vintage

Beguiling though slightly muted nose leads to a savoury and rustic drop with ultra fine tannins, and moderate stewed plums with an unexpectedly short length for the presumed density of this wine. Very dark. Well integrated after its 16 years in the bottle. Acidity makes this wine, adding some sparkle and accompanying food splendidly. 92.5

2009 vintage

Deep ruby. Pronounced aromas of blackcurrant, black plum, vanilla, cedar, anise. Medium+ acidity, medium+ fine tannins. Medium+ finish. Needs a long decant (3+ hours) to remove some of the funkiness. Very good but was hoping for more to be honest. I wonder if this has turned out a bit differently from how some of the professional reviewers might have imagined?

2009 vintage

Tasted in FW, balanced, good sipping with cheese, nice fruit with smooth tannins with a rustic edge, the wine has aged well.

2009 vintage

Drank this with duck legs and roast potatoes and this robust but slightly rustic wine was a really good match. Chunky, weighty but lacks complexity or finesse. I don't think this has improved over the last year or two, or has anywhere particular to go. Very enjoyable to drink, but not a fine wine.

2009 vintage

When I opened this one, the top of the cork started crumbling, and I thought this was a goner. Carefully extracted and the bottom half of the cork was just fine, no signs of seepage. Filtered off into a decanter to catch thee sediment, and let sit for about 20 minutes (I can be impatient). Probably should have given it more air, upon retrospect. The nose was nice, subtle cherry notes. There was some bricking that I could see. Very …

2003 vintage

I enjoyed this, though I would not have picked it as left-bank (ie Cabernet mostly) Bordeaux. OK maybe St Estephe. It’s umami meaty.

2009 vintage

Consistent with previous note - very impressive.

2009 vintage

Lovely

2009 vintage

Deep garnet in the glass with a moderately thick rim, this 2009 Château Branaire Ducru shows an earthy graphite nose with dark fruits, cassis, black cherry, baking spice and vanilla. The palate is fairly balanced with ripe dark fruit, a bit of an acidic edge that keeps things lively and a touch of heat from the alcohol, supported by resolved but still present tannins. The finish is lengthy with leather, smoke and tar, giving a savoury and persistent close.

2009 vintage

Horrible QPR (paid $100) and drinks like 60-70 at most. This needs at least 2 hours to decant 1st hour: Muted, bland, very flat and weak. I thought it was corked, tasted a bit murky. 83-84 at best. 2nd hour: More earthy, woody tones; notes of cedar. Slight notes of berries and cedar. 89 at this point. Can’t be excellent, it’s just lacking for $100. The 2010 is just a whole world better. These ratings are all over the place.

2009 vintage

Beautifully dense blackberry and black cherry, with an abundance of secondary and tertiary notes, moist loam, chocolate, licorice, tar and tobacco to name a few. Medium-bodied, fresh and focused with a saline finish.

2009 vintage

Perfectly lovely gentle claret, exactly what you would expect from this chateau. Drinking great right now, will probably last about decade but won’t get better than it is today.

2009 vintage

Perfectly mature, fresh and delicious. Not much depth but in a very good place now and very enjoyable. Put on some weight after an hour. Could hold for a while but why wait, at peak.

2009 vintage

See prior note from 2020. No drop off or deterioration. Enchanting nose of red and some dark fruit, cedar, secondary and teriary notes, sweet tannins with a beautiful, long finish. Very pleasing wine.

1995 vintage

ok nose that was earthy and the finish was flat. good fill and cork was in great shape. A very ordinary bordeaux!

2009 vintage

Lots of marzipan and quite mature fruit - lovely wine, may well improve from here although I’m not sure it’ll ever be a blockbuster

2009 vintage

Classic Bordeaux. Medium dusty tannins, medium fruit (cherry, blackberry), medium to waning acidity. A little short on the finish. Dusty, drying fruits as well. Spices and herbs/green. Just a nice enjoyable wine with some late inning complexity.

2009 vintage

Decanted thru Rabbit. First class. Balanced. Structured and fruity. A classic claret. Will improve over many years but already delicious.

2009 vintage

Dark, unevolved and a bit ponderous, with lots of strict tannins and a mass of red fruit. Not that interesting.

2003 vintage

Stood up for months, decanted off well-settled large sediment. Medium-deep ruby with age-appropriate bricking; medium intensity aromatics, mature black fruits, capsicum, forest floor, some cedar, some minerality; palate is medium-full bodied, excellent balance with medium-low alcohol (13%!), medium-plus acidity, fully mature black fruits, some savory complexity; finish is medium length. Excellent value even at current pricing. 92, I'll drink all of mine in the next 1-2 years.

2003 vintage

The cork was completed shattered. Luckily I siphoned the wine into the decanter and saved the day. Tasted side by side with Brane Cantenac 03. Both kept in temperature controlled cellar with no visible sign of age. No orange hue. But I must say right off the bat the nose were very different on both wines. Branaire Ducru was funkier and more complex, smoke, meaty while the Brane Cantenac was more fruit driven. On the palette, both were silky smooth …

2003 vintage

Deep red colour, nose of sweet, ripe dark berry fruits, quite enticing. The palate is rather dense and a bit one dimensional, takes time to evolve I assume!

2003 vintage

Medium garnet. Expressive nose with cedar over black cherry and raspberry. Very pure fruit profile. Full bodied and very stuctured. Tannic structure is firm but very fine. Great concentration and freshness. Long spiced black cherry finish. Loads of potential. Really opened up with 3+ hours of air. Delicious wine.

2009 vintage

Excellent bottle - the tannins have softened now, but there is still plenty of structure and grip. Generous fruit, great acidity, lovely notes of tobacco, spices, graphite. Fine length. Drink or keep. 93-95

2009 vintage

Another wine that I liked more than others. One-hour decant through a screened and aerating funnel. No sediment in the screen or the bottle. During decant the wine gave off fragrant aromas of blackcurrant and arugula. Wine was clear; blood red bowl to rim; no amber and no halo. After resting, nose had opened up even more: blackcurrant preserves, cedar and some florist greenery. In the mouth: blackcurrant and forest floor. Smooth; dense; sumptuous and showing a nice balance. Long …

2009 vintage

Smells and tastes like old boots. All is in harmony, but I find it hard to love wines like this.

1995 vintage

Not as long or full as Las Cases. Similar dark fruited palate takes longer to unfurl. Tension on the finish adds to experience.

2003 vintage

In a blind, placed it much younger than it is. lots of life left. might be in a sleeping phase, it was initially rather big, then closed up for the rest of the night. Didn't interest me to revisit it among all the bottles that evening. Let's see what a few more years brings to it

2009 vintage

Ours was like Byron's: dense but closed; very little fruit. Good, though: some tobacco, rich, smooth with long aftertaste. Decanted 3+ hours.

2009 vintage

Earthy rather than elegant. Not decanted long enough so slow to open up. Then well-balanced old style claret- no fruity sweetness, more like cedar wood and pencil shavings. Light tannins so faded quickly. One to drink up

1995 vintage

Bright ruby, no browning on the edges, somehow cloudy and on the nose a bit tired even after one hour. Palate is very intense and still fruity with mellow resolved tannins and good length. On the downhill for sure. Drink up!

1995 vintage

Strong fresh dark fruit aroma on opening dominated by cassis and cedar, with a distinct note of pepper on the palate. Clearly still has lots of life in it. Evolved (and improved) over the four hours the bottle was open, with ripe red fruits, pencil lead, and some forest floor coming through as it opened up.

2002 vintage

First bottle for 18 months, and it is still going strong with at least another decade ahead of it at this level. I endorse the aeration advice form Decanting Queen, that this needs a good two hours in the decanter to open up. Everything is nicely integrated with smooth tannin and a subtley fruited palate. For myself this is the best vintage from the estate to date, and great value for money. 93+

2003 vintage

Same as previous ratings, so nice and drinkable. Gave it two hours in the decanter and it was ready to go. Clearly a ripe vintage but also carries some classic bordeaux traits along with that ripe fruit. Tannins smooth and nicely balanced acidity, imperceptible alcohol. Strangely, I did not have this bottle in CT. I have consumed two that I bought. And another with Mark. But I must have bought 2 more along the way because I gave one to …

2003 vintage

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of several hours. The 2003 pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some signs of fine sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with powerful notes of ripe and slightly desiccated black and red fruits: cassis, mixed brambles, dark cherry, pipe tobacco, purple flowers, leather, graphite, some earth and soft baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with …

2003 vintage

Solid, dark fruit. Lots of iron, mineral, black olive. A bit stiff, a hallmark of the chateau. A solid wine, well aged but has another decade to go. Just doesn't wow me in any way. Lacks roundness, warmth, openness.

2003 vintage

Drinking very wrll with wonderfil fruirs and velvety tanins.

2003 vintage

a very pretty aged bordeaux with plenty of bright red fruit, good acidity and freshness that belies its age, medium bodied claret with soft tannins leading to a smooth finish. very enjoyable with the terrific cuisine at Rich Table in SF.

2003 vintage

Slight cork taint. Bummer.

2003 vintage

Consumed next to the 08 Ducru-B. This was much more open and approachable, as you would expect for the warm vintage. Drinking really well right now, fruit forward but balanced alcohol and acidity, smooth tannins. Decanted for 1 hour and then back in the bottle a few hours before dinner. That was perfect but it could have handled more air and been fine. Lots of years to go with this one.

2003 vintage

Limited tasting notes because of the nature of the event. Vintages: hot (2003) versus cold (2008). The 2008 bottles were more traditional in style, but I preferred the 2003 bottles. I think that the 2008 bottles will last longer, however. This was my favorite wine out of seven tasted. Candied fruits and nuts. So good!

2003 vintage

Drank the 95 Branaire single blind, easy to identify as its house style was evident. The Branaire, the most rustic of the lineup, started with some musty notes that blew off and an earthy, almost swampy note of decaying plant matter. Has a refreshing herbal element and a dryness that is generally out of fashion these days, but no outright green streak and it avoided excessive rusticity. It was my least favorite initially but it really grew on me and …

1995 vintage

Another offering from a half bottle, with a distinctive aroma of dried herbal fruits and leathery notes, my bottle told me now it is time to finish it off and I obeyed its words!

2003 vintage

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Chateau Branaire-Ducru 4eme Cru Classe, Saint-Julien

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