Winemaker Notes
Branaire-Ducru 2017 has a lovely character. The nose is already expressive, harmonious and complex with good evidence of red fruits. With an immediate presence the palate has fine, silky tannins. There is a wonderful freshness, due in no small part to the combination of moderate levels of alcohol and good levels of acidity, this freshness gives a lovely lift to theastonishingly long finish. The 2017 vintage which started in difficult conditions, has, in the end allowed us to make a wine of character, true to the style of Branaire-Ducru and redolent of the greatvintages.
Blend: 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 4.5% Cabernet Franc, 6.5% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
An elegantly structured wine, this is both juicy and packed with tannins. Ripe berry flavors are equally prominent in this balanced wine. The wine’s future is promising; drink from 2024.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The deep purple-colored 2017 Château Branaire-Ducru offers a fresh, focused, classic style in 2017. Beautiful spring flowers, black and blue fruits, and a kiss of minerality all emerge from this medium-bodied effort that has nicely integrated acidity, a balanced, clean texture, and plenty of mid-palate depth. My money is on this ending up being an outstanding wine.
Barrel Sample: 90-92 -
Wine Spectator
A polished style, with a perfumed mesquite note draped over a core of plum and blackberry puree flavors. The finish lingers, with a mineral hint amid the fruit. Pure and aromatic. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2032.
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James Suckling
Notes of raspberries and orange peel with tar on the nose and palate. Medium body, firm and silky tannins and a fresh, lively finish. Pleasing young red. Better after 2021.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Branaire-Ducru gives up notes of baked black berries, red cherries and mulberries with touches of potpourri and smoked meats. Medium-bodied with a lively line lifting the good concentration of red and black fruits, it has a chewy frame and grippy finish.
Barrel Sample: 88-90
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
An icon of balance and tradition, St. Julien boasts the highest proportion of classed growths in the Médoc. What it lacks in any first growths, it makes up in the rest: five amazing second growth chateaux, two superb third growths and four well-reputed fourth growths. While the actual class rankings set in 1855 (first, second, and so on the fifth) today do not necessarily indicate a score of quality, the classification system is important to understand in the context of Bordeaux history. Today rivalry among the classed chateaux only serves to elevate the appellation overall.
One of its best historically, the estate of Leoville, was the largest in the Médoc in the 18th century, before it was divided into the three second growths known today as Chateau Léoville-Las-Cases, Léoville-Poyferré and Léoville-Barton. Located in the north section, these are stone’s throw from Chateau Latour in Pauillac and share much in common with that well-esteemed estate.
The relatively homogeneous gravelly and rocky top soil on top of clay-limestone subsoil is broken only by a narrow strip of bank on either side of the “jalle,” or stream, that bisects the zone and flows into the Gironde.
St. Julien wines are for those wanting subtlety, balance and consistency in their Bordeaux. Rewarding and persistent, the best among these Bordeaux Blends are full of blueberry, blackberry, cassis, plum, tobacco and licorice. They are intense and complex and finish with fine, velvety tannins.