Château Branaire-Ducru 2022

A fascinating perfume with smoky, mineral notes, cedar, cherries, cassis, herbs, and raspberries; the palate is elegant and powerful while remaining light on its feet, with a creamy texture and plenty of bite. Excellent length and harmony. A truly great Branaire!

A mix of mulled boysenberry and blackberry fruit, dried violet, iris and lively licorice snap notes gives this a textbook and very aromatic St.-Julien profile. A sleek iron detail courses underneath, allowing the fruit to sail unhindered through the finish, flanked judiciously by singed apple wood. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2027 through 2042. 12,500 cases made, 2,500 cases imported.

This impressed during En Primeur and totally delivers on a promise of freshness, charm and drinkability. Juicy and succulent with the clean and crystalline fruit at the fore. Tannins meld seamlessly into the wine with only a hint of bitter chocolate and liquorice spice on the finish giving nuance. Layered and shiny - down plays the vintage in terms of concentration - this is sleek and glossy. Polished and well crafted. A tiny bit shy still - this will age very well - but also feels as if you could start to enjoy this soon. Wonderful.

Blackcurrants and pencil shavings with such intense but subtle character on the nose. Some crushed stones as well. Full-bodied and dense with layers of polished tannins that are integrated and focused, creamy and caressing. Very long and persistent. 60.5% cabernet sauvignon, 31.5% merlot, 5.5% cabernet franc and 2.5% petit verdot. Best after 2028.

The 2022 Branaire-Ducru is a dense, plush wine, atypically so for a Saint-Julien that is usually more reserved. Unctuous in feel, with superb balance, the 2022 Branaire-Ducru is quite the extrovert. Soft contours wrap around a core of dark cherry, plum, mocha, new leather, espresso and licorice. Yields were 33HL per hectare, lower than the historical norm here in the upper 30s/lower 40s because of stress on the vines. The 2022 spent 16 months in French oak, with 60% new wood. This is a decidedly exotic Branaire-Ducru. I can't wait to see how it ages. Tasted two times.

Elegance, vibrancy, and purity are at the heart of this stunning gem. Competing for the title of the best vintage of Branaire Ducru ever produced, it's easy to understand why once you pop the cork. Displaying a deep color, the wine offers a floral bouquet before unveiling its medley of dark red fruits, spice, mocha, nutmeg, vanilla, and black cherries. The palate is even more impressive with its show-stopping, refined, creamy profile and purity of fruit. There is concentration, length, and lift on the finish that allows the wine to persist. This represents an entirely new level of quality. The wine consists of 60.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31.5% Merlot, 5.5% Cabernet Franc, and 2.5% Petit Verdot. Enjoy from 2027 to 2060.

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 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.

As ever an understated classified wine, not pushing too far even among the exuberance of 2022, instead delivering fragrant, peony-laced cassis fruits laced with slate and graphite. An exceptional example of this property. Owner François-Xavier Maroteaux.

An open, nuanced, inviting bouquet of great finesse, where red fruits mingle with delicate hints of roses and the liveliness of Sichuan pepper. On the palate, the fluidity is remarkable, caressing the palate with the refined softness of brushed Indian silk. Flavors oscillate between floral elegance and earthy depth. Fruit resurfaces on the long, satisfying finish.

As is its custom, Branaire-Ducru reveals itself step by step, with finesse and subtlety. It begins with a touch of reduction, a reliable sign for cellaring potential. With a little air, subtle nuances of raspberry, blackberry, and licorice emerge, reinforcing the wine’s multifaceted character. Delicate and linear, it is carried by tannins that provide not only a solid backbone but also an unsuspected power within this context of finesse and harmony. A wine devoted to restraint, detail, and the ability to shine without fanfare—simply with delicacy. Tasted while listening to Adagio in G minor.

Lovely, elegant nose—bright and racy—delivering fine-tuned intensity and a very fine, tense grain. Depth and harmony. Notes of morello cherry and cornflower, with lighter crushed Charlotte strawberry, are joined by touches of fresh blueberry, Cubeb pepper, and delicate hints of elegantly roasted fruit, a nearly Mediterranean nuance to some fruits, and a discreet aniseed note. The palate is well-paced, delicate, fresh, supple, and airy, offering beautiful ripeness, fleshiness, an appealing Mediterranean fruit profile, depth, elegant darkness, and a charming roasted-bright-juicy character. Perfectly judged. A lovely multi-layered dimension. Pleasing mid-palate sweetness. This wine expresses notes of crushed blackberry, elegantly roasted strawberry, and, more subtly, blueberry, alongside touches of fleshy Bigarreau cherry, a hint of crushed raspberry, a discreet near-mandarin note, subtle hints of tobacco and tonka bean/chocolate, and a subtle toasty touch. The tannins are sapid, elegant, flavorful, and indulgent. A chalky edge on the finish. Lovely persistence.

Logo on the cork: AL A beautiful dark red colour, intense and youthful. A highly aromatic nose, refined, pure, fruity and subtle. A world of precision comes alive on the palate, graceful and flavoursome. As its aromatic progression unfolds, the wine becomes increasingly silky, with no tannic harshness whatsoever. Given its low pH, its silky texture is remarkable. An indestructible vintage. Excellent ageing potential.

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.